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IW CHEESE ALERT AS BUG FOUND

By Richard Wright - Thursday, December 20, 2007
LISTERIA has been discovered in award-winning cheese produced by an Island company, which has recalled the affected batch.
Routine testing revealed a batch of the IW Cheese Company’s IW Blue cheese was infected with the bug, which produces flu-like symptoms and diarrhoea.
It is particularly dangerous in pregnancy and to elderly people and those with lowered immune systems.
All the affected IW Blue is packeted, already carrying warnings not to eat during pregnancy, and has the batch number 45 05 01.
Most was sold at last Friday’s Farmers’ Market in Newport and can be returned there today (Friday), or to the Farmers’ Market in Ryde tomorrow, or the January 4 Newport market or the one in Ryde the following day, for full refunds.
Some blue from the batch was sold at delicatessens and farm shops across the Island. About 230 packets are thought to be involved.
IW Cheese director and cheesemaker Richard Hodgson said: “We are scrupulous in our production methods at Queenbower and this is the first problem we have ever had. But we are more vulnerable because we use unpasteurised milk.
“We reported it as soon as it was discovered and I think a lot of people will have bought this cheese for Boxing Day and may not yet have eaten it.”
A Food Standards Agency spokesman said: “The IW Cheese Company has taken a responsible approach after its own tests revealed this issue. Consumers are advised not to consume the product. If it has already been eaten, the risk of infection is very low and the majority of people exposed do not become unwell.”