France Recalls an Organic Munster with 260 CFU/g of Listeria and Several Artisanal Cheeses of German Origin for the Same Pathogen

The official RappelConso portal published on October 12, 2026 two voluntary cheese recalls for Listeria monocytogenes. The first is an organic farm Munster in 200-gram pieces, sold at a single point of sale in the Grand Est region. The notice reports that laboratory analysis found the bacterium at a level of 260 colony-forming units per gram, and that the product was no longer on sale. The second covers a range of artisanal cheeses of German origin, including vineyard cheeses, creamy cheeses, peppered cheeses and blue-mold varieties, sold throughout French territory by organic and natural food stores.

The level of 260 CFU/g is above the 100 CFU/g limit set by the EU regulation on microbiological criteria for ready-to-eat foods that allow the bacterium to grow during their shelf life. Both recalls are voluntary and issued without a prefectoral order, and the notices ask consumers not to eat or use the products and to destroy them or return them to the point of sale. Two cheese recalls for the same pathogen on a single day are a reminder that soft, washed-rind and blue-mold dairy products are a matrix sensitive to Listeria.

Listeriosis can be serious. The notice recommends consulting a doctor in case of fever, with or without headache and muscle aches, and mentioning any consumption of the product, and it reminds that the incubation period can reach eight weeks. Pregnant women, immunocompromised people and older adults should be especially alert, because the infection can cause neurological complications and maternal or fetal harm.

For artisanal cheesemakers, when an entire range is recalled the technical question is where the source lies, whether in the raw material, the plant or the ripening room; the notice does not specify this. TAAG's Specio 1.4 kit detects Listeria monocytogenes by real-time PCR with melting curve analysis, with food and surfaces among its validated matrices and dairy products among its industries. The association is indirect: washed-rind and blue-mold cheeses are not specifically named among the matrices, and the notices do not describe analyses performed with the kit.