Panera Bread Issues Voluntary Recall Over Listeria Concern

DETROIT, MI – Panera Bread is voluntarily recalling cream cheese products from its bakery-cafes nationwide after one variety showed signs of Listeria contamination. The chain announced the recall on Sunday, saying samples of the cream cheese tested positive for the presence of the bacteria that can sicken consumers.

The test samples came from one variety of 2-ounce cream cheese from a single production day. Tests of samples from other production runs came back negative. The recall is "out of an abundance of caution," the restaurant chain said in a statement.

The recall only affects cream cheese sold in bakery cafes in the United States, and doesn’t affect any other of Panera’s food products. In the Greater Detroit area, there are nine Panera restaurants.

"The safety of our guests and associates is paramount, therefore we are recalling all cream cheese products sold in the U.S. with an active shelf life," said Blaine Hurst, Panera’s president and CEO, in a statement. The company has halted all manufacturing in the associated cream cheese facility, Hurst said.

Listeria monocytogenes is a bacteria that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. It’s also particularly dangerous to pregnant women, as it can cause miscarriages and still births.

Healthy people usually only suffer short-term symptoms, such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

No one has been sickened so far the company said in its statement Sunday.

Both 2-ounce and 8-ounce varieties with an expiration date before April 2, 2018, are subject to the recall. The affected brands are Plain Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Plain Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Chive & Onion Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Honey Walnut Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Wild Blueberry Cream Cheese.

Customers who bought the cream cheese should throw it away and call the company at 1 (855)-6-PANERA or visit the customer help website, for information about how to claim a full refund.

File photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images Staff