Whole Foods Recalls Pecorino Cheese for Listeria Risk
Whole Foods Market recalls Pecorino cheese aged in walnut leaves due to potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Check your PLU and sell-by dates.
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Product has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
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What happened, in plain English
Whole Foods Market is recalling approximately 12 pounds of Pecorino cheese aged in walnut leaves because the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. This recall affects specific lots sold in New York and Florida between late February and early March 2016. The record does not specify a remedy or return process for consumers. Read more at govinfonow.com/recall/25185-whole-foods-recalls-pecorino-cheese-for-listeria-risk.
Source Summary by GovInfoNow · govinfonow.com/recall/25185-whole-foods-recalls-pecorino-cheese-for-listeria-risk · Updated October 11, 2026 · FDA enforcement record: FDA #F-1709-2016
Cite this page
“Whole Foods Recalls Pecorino Cheese for Listeria Risk.” GovInfoNow, updated October 11, 2026. https://govinfonow.com/recall/25185-whole-foods-recalls-pecorino-cheese-for-listeria-risk. Based on FDA recall #F-1709-2016 (https://api.fda.gov/food/enforcement.json?search=recall_number:%22F-1709-2016%22&limit=1).
Why it’s dangerous
Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that can cause serious infections, particularly in vulnerable populations. Ingestion of contaminated food can lead to severe illness without the consumer necessarily tasting or seeing anything wrong with the product.
Who’s affected
Consumers who purchased Pecorino cheese aged in walnut leaves from Whole Foods Market locations, specifically the store at 95 Houston St. in New York, NY, and potentially others in Florida. Individuals with weakened immune systems, pregnant women, the elderly, and newborns are at highest risk for serious infection from Listeria.
How to tell if you have this one
Look for Pecorino cheese aged in walnut leaves (brand Mitica) wrapped in plastic. Check for PLU codes 0294239 or 290107. Verify the sell-by dates are between February 29, 2016, and March 8, 2016. The product is distributed by Whole Foods Market.
- Brand
Whole Foods Market- Category
Food
What to do — step by step
Check your cheese
Verify if you have Pecorino aged in walnut leaves with PLU 0294239 or 290107 and a sell-by date between Feb 29, 2016, and March 8, 2016.
Discard the product
If you have this specific cheese, do not eat it due to the risk of Listeria contamination.
Where it went and when
Where it was distributed
Distributed in Florida and New York.
FDA distribution: “NY, FL” States read from FDA’s own wording; “not listed” means the notice does not name it.
States: Florida, New York.
Recall timeline
FDA terminated this recall 8 months after the firm started it.
- Firm started the recall
- FDA classified it Class I
- Published in FDA’s Enforcement Report
- FDA terminated the recall
Dates from the agency record only; steps without a date are left out.
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Where this comes from
The facts (hazard, remedy, dates, manufacturer) are pulled from the official FDA recall record. The plain-language summary and step-by-step checklist are written by GovInfoNow to make the official notice easier to act on — they don’t replace it.
- Official source: FDA Recall #F-1709-2016 (February 16, 2016) — FDA publishes no per-recall page; this is the official machine-readable enforcement record. Search FDA recalls for F-1709-2016 to see it in context.
- Plain-language summary written by qwen3.6:35b-a3b on October 11, 2026, from the official record above. Not reviewed by a person — if it conflicts with the FDA notice, the notice is correct. Report an error on this page.
- GovInfoNow is an independent service and is not a government agency. We republish official FDA recall data; we don’t issue, amend or administer recalls.