Minnesotans are being warned about a possible outbreak of illness caused by contaminated cheese.

Health officials advised not to eat Les Frères, Petit Frère or Petit Frère With Truffles until more information is available from an investigation of listeriosis that has been linked to these cheeses produced by Crave Brothers Farmstead Classic Cheese, a Wisconsin producer. The Minnesota Health and Agriculture departments are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a multistate outbreak of listeriosis. Grocery stores and distributors have been advised to pull the products and not sell them until further notice.

Two older adults in Minnesota became ill in June and were hospitalized; one died.

The Department of Agriculture is testing samples of the cheese. Early results indicate the presence of Listeria, but it has not yet been confirmed.

Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headaches, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Symptoms often begin three weeks after being infected, but could begin anytime within three to 70 days.

Mary Lynn Smith