Middlefield Original Amish Cheese Recall Expanded: Listeria Possible In More Products & States

Additional Middlefield Original cheese products which may be contaminated with listeria

Back in August, we learned that over 5,000 lbs of cheese produced by Middlefield Original – a Geauga County, Ohio co-op comprised almost entirely of Amish farmers – were potentially contaminated with listeria.

That announcement covered a total of five cheese products which were produced in June and July, and distributed in Ohio in July and August.

Now comes news that the recall has been expanded to include further Middlefield Original-produced cheese products – and more states.

And oddly, this news seems to have taken quite awhile to get out there (more on that at the end of this post).

Middlefield Original Cheese. Photo: Joe Musico

The Expanded Recall

The expanded recall covers more products, and a total of four states (the original recall was only for Ohio). Now it affects Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Texas. From WFMJ:

MIDDLEFIELD, Ohio – A business operated by Amish family farms in Northeast Ohio has expanded a recall to include more cheese products due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. This bacterium can cause serious illness.

Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op announced the recall of several cheese varieties produced at its Middlefield facility on May 30 and Aug. 13, 2025. The products were distributed in Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Texas between July 7 and Aug. 14, 2025.

The recalled products were sold through distributors, dining halls and retail stores. The recall includes specific lot codes and sell-by dates for Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op and Sunrise Creamery brands.

It’s also worth noting – no illnesses have yet been reported. There is also this detail about where the bacterium was found:

The company initiated the recall after internal testing found Listeria monocytogenes in finished products and on cutting equipment surfaces. No illnesses have been reported to date.

Recalled products were sold under the Middlefield Original label, but also under other brands, including Sunrise Creamery and Copia Collective. Image via Just Plain Business

New Cheeses Added to List

From what I can tell, the new recall covers an additional seven cheese types, with some of those being sold in different package types.

Here are the additional cheeses broken down both by type/label, and package sizes (which is why some cheese types show up more than once, the recall concerns different package sizes for that cheese):

Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op Organic Gouda: 8-ounce packages, sell-by date of February 13, 2026
Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op Mozzarella/Provolone Cheese: 5-pound bags of shredded cheese, sell-by date of September 3, 2025
Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op Colored (Yellow) Cheddar Cheese: 5-pound loaves (labeled as Smoked Cheddar and All Natural Mild Cheddar), sell-by date of February 13, 2026
Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op Colored (Yellow) Cheddar Cheese: 5-pound bags (shredded cheese) (labeled as Shredded Cheddar Cheese), sell-by date of September 3, 2025
Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op Swiss Cheese: 5-pound loaves, sell-by date of February 13, 2026
Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op Pepper Jack Cheese: 5-pound loaves (labeled as All Natural Pepper Jack), sell-by date of February 13, 2026
Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op Pepper Jack Cheese: 5-pound bags (shredded cheese), sell-by date of 9/3/2025
Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op Monterey Jack Cheese: 5-pound loaves, sell-by date of 2/13/2026
Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op Monterey Jack Cheese: 5-pound bags (shredded cheese), sell-by date of 9/3/2025
Sunrise Creamery Dilly Pickle Monterey Jack with Pickles Cheese: 6-ounce package (labeled as Dilly Pickle) with lot code 253054 and sell-by date of January 7, January 11 or February 16, 2026
Sunrise Creamery Dilly Pickle Monterey Jack with Pickles Cheese: 1.25-pound package (labeled as Dilly Pickle Jack) with lot code 253054 and sell-by date of December 30, 2025

These would be in addition to the original list of recalled products (note that multiple package sizes are listed under one bullet point for some of these products below):

Middlefield Original Cheese Co-op 100% Grass-Fed Pepper Jack Cheese – eight-ounce packages, five-pound loaves, and 40-pound loaves – lot code: 251661
Copia Collective 100% Grass-Fed Pepper Jack Cheese – eight-ounce packages – lot code: 251661
Middlefield Original Cheese Co-op Horseradish Flavored Cheese – eight-ounce packages – lot code: 2524061
Middlefield Original Cheese Co-op Monterey Jack Cheese – eight-ounce packages and five-pound blocks with lot code: 251672 – 40-pound blocks with dates coded as 7-16-25B
Farmers Cheese – eight-ounce packages and five-pound blocks with lot code: 251672 – 40-pound blocks with dates coded as 7-16-25B

The Health Threat Of Listeria & What To Do With The Cheese

Listeria is potentially life-threatening in certain people, and for unborn babies. The FDA describes the health threat as following:

potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

If you purchased one of the cheese from the list, you should either dispose of it, or return the cheese to the retail location to get a refund.

Oddly Long Delay As Recall Info Takes Time To Spread

Looking into it, I’m finding some odd things as far as how this information has been getting out to the public.

According to the latest FDA posting, the “Company Announcement Date” of this latest recall was September 5th, and the “FDA Publish Date” was September 8th (see screenshot below).

Second Middlefield Original recall announcement at fda.com screenshot

I’m not sure what would be the reason for the three-day gap there.

And checking news feeds, I’m seeing that a lot of news stories have been emerging over the past day or two, but I’ve only found one from the date of the “Company Announcement”.

But that’s not the oddest thing. The company itself put out a PR announcement about the new set of recalled cheeses well before these dates – back on August 31st, which apparently got little attention (I’ve only found it showing up on that date, also oddly, on a Nebraska news site).

August 31 press release on the second recall by Middlefield Original

Furthermore, the “company announcement” info at the FDA site is confusing. Does that indicate the date the company “announced” the recall to the FDA? It seems they made an announcement already on the last day of August.

Why would there be a five-day gap between that date and the August 31 announcement – and a further three-day delay until the “FDA Publish” date?

Good that it is now getting wider coverage…even though I’m puzzled by these questions – and that we’re only seeing the info really spread here now about eight to 10 days after Middlefield Original put out their August 31 press release.