The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Aesan) has activated an alert after detecting that the French Morbier DOP cheese, which is marketed under the trademark Frieslandcampina Iberia and Millán Vicente, is infected with the bacteria Escherichia coli, producer of Shiga toxin.
According to Aesan, all batches of the product are affected. This matured cheese made with raw milk was sold packaged in wedges of 175 and 195 grams.
The information has been made known thanks to a self-monitoring by Frieslandcampina, which has reported the problem to the competent authorities, in compliance with the legislation and to prevent the population from consuming unsafe food.
This company does not make the affected cheeses, but uses them as raw materials for some products it sells in Spain. In a statement, FrieslandCampina wanted to convey a message of calm, “given that all appropriate measures have been taken.”
The French authorities have also reported on this food contamination through the European Food Alert Network (Rasff).
According to the information collected by this European network, the cheese has been distributed, for the moment, in fifteen countries, including Spain.
In turn, this information has been transferred to the autonomous communities through the Coordinated System for Rapid Information Exchange (Sciri) to verify the withdrawal of the affected products.
After receiving the notice from Rasff, Aesan recommends that people who have the products included in this alert at home refrain from consuming them due to the risk they pose to health.
If you have consumed any of the products from the cheese batches and present any symptoms compatible with toxiinfection by E. coli, which produces shiga toxins, (severe abdominal cramps, which can progress to watery and bloody diarrhea), the agency recommends going to a health center.
