Belgium Recalls Two Fresh Goat Cheeses, Plain and With Herbs, Over Possible Listeria monocytogenes

Belgium's Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (AFSCA) published on October 21, 2026 the recall of two fresh goat cheeses due to the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes. In agreement with the agency, a Belgian cheese dairy is withdrawing from sale and recalling from consumers its plain goat maquée and its goat maquée with herbs, both in 125-gram containers. The products were distributed to various points of sale.

The notice affects batch L79, with use-by dates of November 5 and 12, 2026, packed in plastic tubs. The sales period was October 13 to 20, so although the product is no longer in stores, it may remain in household refrigerators until mid-November. The company asks its customers not to eat the cheeses and to return them to the point of sale where they bought them, where they will be refunded. The notice does not report analytical results or cases of illness, and does not mention distribution outside Belgium.

Maquée is a soft, unripened fresh cheese typical of Belgium that is eaten without cooking. Its high moisture, refrigerated storage and direct consumption make fresh cheeses a matrix sensitive to Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that tolerates cold, can multiply in the refrigerator and usually reaches the product from the plant environment: filling equipment, wet surfaces or drains. Listeriosis is rare, but it can be severe in pregnant women, newborns, older adults and immunocompromised people, and its incubation period can last several weeks, so cases may appear long after consumption. That is why it is worth checking the refrigerator even if the cheese was bought days ago.

For small and medium-sized cheese dairies, the case is a reminder that Listeria control in fresh cheeses depends above all on environmental monitoring of the filling and packing area and on testing the product before release, because a shelf life of a few weeks leaves little margin to recall a batch in time. TAAG's Ampliora 3.5 kit detects Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria spp. by real-time PCR and its validated matrices include dairy and surfaces, so it matches the microorganism and the matrix of this recall and serves both for the product and for the plant environment. A positive result is presumptive and must be confirmed with the reference method.