F.D.A. Urges Judge to Cut Cheese From Peregrina

The F.D.A. has filed a complaint seeking an injunction against Williamsburg-based Peregrina Cheese in an attempt to stop the company from manufacturing and distributing food until further action is taken by the court. During visits this year, investigators reported filthy conditions at the factory, including standing water in food processing equipment and a dead rodent. More troubling was the the detection of Listeria bacteria in a sample of the cheese products and throughout the factory. According to the Listeria Blog, Listeria monocytogenes is a potentially fatal foodborne pathogen that can cause meningitis, septicemia, and other serious illnesses. The F.D.A. says the company's owners, Javier Peregrina and his wife Isabel, have failed to correct numerous violations cited as far back as 2004. (In March the F.D.A. ordered a recall on Peregrina's Queso Fresco Fresh Cheese after contaminants were found.) No illnesses have been documented from consumers who ate Peregrina cheese, which produces several Mexican-style cheeses. But according to the F.D.A., the bacteria collected by inspectors in 2004 is the same strain of Listeria found this year, which suggests "that the strain has formed a niche at Peregrina Cheese's facility...for at least five years."