A quarantine on cheese produced by Petaluma's Andante Dairy was lifted late Friday afternoon three days after multiple lots of cheese were recalled, the California Department of Food and Agriculture announced.
A review of records from a recent CDFA inspection determined the temperature was not right during the pasteurization process, triggering the recall and quarantine, CDFA spokesman Jay Van Rein said.
The recall and quarantine involved a small lot of fresh cheese that is usually consumed quickly and is not intended for storage, Van Rein said.
No illnesses were been reported and the dairy cooperated with the quarantine and recall, Van Rein said.
The recall affected cheese already sold to consumers or still on the shelves of retail outlets, and the quarantine applied to all cheese in the dairy's production line, Van Rein said.
The recalled cheeses were sold in sizes from five to eight ounces. There was no code date or variety information on the packages, Van Rein said.
The cheeses were sold mainly to retail markets, restaurants and cheese shops in California, most of them in the Bay Area, but the recalled cheese also was sold to one retail outlet in Chicago and two in New York, Van Rein said.
The Musette, Tomme Dolce and Etude varieties of cheese were exempt from the quarantine and recall.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture had urged consumers to discard any other varieties of cheese from Andante Dairy. Andante Dairy was advised how to correct the problem with the temperature during pasteurization, Van Rein said.
A call to the dairy Friday afternoon was not returned.
-Bay City News
