cheese-wire.com

Health officials in the United States are hunting for an illegal cheese manufacturer whose backstreet dairy sales are believed to be the source of a string of illnesses.

Unscrupulous cheese vendors have been offloading their tainted produce in parking lots outside stores and churches in the Winnebago area of Illinois, west of Chicago, local authorities say.

A cluster of gastrointestinal illness cases are being treated that appear to be connected to the consumption of the cheese made by mystery unlicensed vendors,

The Winnebago County Health Department says testing of samples of the Mexican-style white cheese was ongoing, but laboratory investigations had already detected listeria.

“We are concerned about people who may have this illegally manufactured cheese and may become ill from consuming it,” Mike Bacon, Administrator of Winnebago County Health Department, said in a statement.

Officials, who say the victims are all Hispanic, are now warning all cheese consumers in the area to ensure they only purchase labeled produce from reputable stores.

Though it does not usually lead to serious illness in healthy children and adults, listeria can cause muscle aches, nausea and diarrhea. Infections during pregnancy can trigger miscarriage, stillbirth, early delivery or infection of the newborn.