All Ruth’s cheese spread packed at SC plant recalled

Ruth’s Salad of Charlotte, NC, on Thursday greatly expanded the recall of pimento spread it sells in South Carolina because of possible Listeria contamination.

The expanded recall now covers all Ruth’s products packed at the B&H Foods, Inc., facility in Chester, SC, and includes Ruth’s Original Pimento Spread 7oz; Ruth’s Original Pimento Spread 12 oz.; Ruth’s Original Pimento Spread 24 oz.; Ruth’s Old Fashion Pimento Spread 16 oz.; Ruth’s Jalapeno Pimento Spread 12 oz.; Ruth’s Lite Pimento Spread 12 oz.; and Ruth’s Cream Cheese with Pineapple-Pecans 12 oz. All lot numbers are included in this recall. The products are packed in plastic containers and labeled as “Packed by B&H Foods, Inc., Chester, SC”.

The recall announced on Thursday does not cover products packed in Charlotte, the company said.

The previous recall announced February 2 covered a limited number of products including Lot #16 of the 7 ounce size of Ruth’s Original Pimento Spread which is sold in a plastic container. Sell By Date 4/30/2017 is printed on the container.

If you have purchased the recalled food item, you are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

At this point, no illnesses have been reported, the company said.

Testing during an inspection by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture discovered the Listeria monocytogenes contamination, the company said.

Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious even fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and people with weakened immune systems. Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Listeria infections can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

The recalled product was distributed in grocery stores in NC, SC, GA, and parts of Virginia and Tennessee.

This story was originally published February 2, 2017 at 7:06 PM with the headline "All Ruth’s cheese spread packed at SC plant recalled."