He National Service for Health and Quality of Agri-Food (Senasa) and the National Drug, Food and Medical Technology Administration (Anmat) announced that they had found samples of the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes in one Cheese of a well-known brand at a facility in Buenos Aires and issued warnings. In the meantime, preventive measures have been implemented to restore hygienic conditions in food production and minimize risks.
It’s about the product: “Double cream soft cheese, La Serenisima brandNet weight 500 g, lot 2703, preparation 07/03/2025, expiry date 09/11/2025, manufactured by the facility BI-05184 of the company MASTELLONE HNOS SA, located at National Route 5, Km 444, Trenque Lauquen, Province of Buenos Aires”. The discovery of the bacteria was made by the National Reference Laboratory of the National Laboratory and Health Administration Institute “Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán” and was notified last Tuesday.
In this way, the immediate cessation of production and the intervention of all batches of cheese produced were ordered. “The facility was requested the withdrawal of batch 2703 cheese from the market and their destructionwhereby the criterion of greatest possible caution is applied. “Based on the results of the environmental sampling of surfaces, it was possible to identify the source of the contamination and appropriate measures were taken to ensure the restoration of safety conditions, which continue to be monitored by Senasa,” they detailed, saying that they will continue the monitoring program.
“The product is no longer usable, but to protect public health, this government reminds the population, especially immunocompromised people and pregnant women, that there may be a possibility that a consumer has frozen or stored the product in a freezer beyond the expiry date, which would create a residual risk,” Anmat warned.
As the government said in a statement, consuming food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes could lead to this Listeriosis disease. The bacteria are found in both water and soil and also grow at refrigeration temperatures, but are killed by heating during cooking. The foods most commonly implicated in disease outbreaks are cold cuts and sausages made from meat and poultry, dairy products made from raw milk, raw vegetables, and raw and smoked fish.
The symptoms of the disease are variable and range from chills, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, fever, headache, diarrhea and stomach pain to a more severe form manifested by meningitis, septicemia and abortions in pregnant women. The maximum incubation period of the bacteria is 70 days with an average of 3 weeks.
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