Kenny's Cheese Recall

Didn't see anything else about this on the forum, so I thought I'd post -- Kenny's Cheese is having to recall some of its cheeses due to a possible listeria contamination. Here's the brief AP wire story (via the Courier-Journal): http://www.courier-journal.com/viewart/20121008/PRIME06/310080084/Kentucky-cheese-company-recalls-products-7-states?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home.

Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese has recalled several varieties of cheese due to possible listeria monocytogenes contamination.

A statement from the Austin, Ky., company on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website says the varieties are Kentucky Rose, Kentucky Bleu, Awe-Brie and Tomme de Nena.

The statement said listeria monocytogenes can cause serious infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems.

The cheeses were sold to farmers markets, restaurants, and stores in Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia between Aug. 22 and Sept. 25.

I hope this doesn't hurt their business, I'm a fan of many of their products.

This has got to be tough on them, they are pretty much a family business. Hope they can make it through this

Thanks for posting. I'll start by saying that I work directly Kenny's Farmhouse Cheese as a direct sales and marketing representative. I feel qualified to speak on this issue.

The recall is the result of a routine FDA inspection of our production facility. Traces of the harmful bacteria Lysteria were found. Our greatest responsibility right now is the safety of our customers and the first step is tracking down the cheeses that were distributed and we have already been successful in doing a good bit of that.

-There have been no reports of any illness to date
-We are working in conjunction with a sanitation consultant, State authorities, and the FDA to make sure that our production facility is completely Listeria-free
-The problem was found in 4 of our 30+ varieties
- This is our first incident of this type in 15 years of making cheese

All of our customers, from the farmer's market all the way up to the large distribution level have been incredibly supportive. We will continue to communicate as much information as possible, every step of the way as we go through this difficult time for our farm.

Thanks and if anyone has any questions or concerns about the recall please feel free to contact me.

Van Campbell
Kenny's Farmhouse Cheese
502-777-7672
van@kennyscheese.com

[Robin Garr]

Thanks for posting. I'll start by saying that I work directly Kenny's Farmhouse Cheese as a direct sales and marketing representative. I feel qualified to speak on this issue.

Thanks, Van. I'm sure everyone appreciates that quick and thorough response. It certainly answers all my questions, and I'm looking forward to a bite of Kenny's Cheese with dinner in the next few days.

Thanks as well for your response, Van!

We just went through the FDA inspection ourselves here at the JCPS Nutrition Service Center and I can tell you that they were VERY thorough. They were here for about a week. It was the first time that the FDA and not the USDA came through and inspected here in the building's 12 years of existence.
I'm proud to report they came away from our facility with a very clean slate.