Vulto Creamery, a former cheesemaker in Walton, New York, has pleaded guilty to inducing the introduction of contaminated food into interstate commerce. The firm was connected to a Listeriosis epidemic in 2014 and 2017, when swabs obtained from the cheese production plant between July 2014 and February 2017 tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, the organism that causes Listeriosis when consumed. The epidemic caused two fatalities and eight hospitalizations in four states: Connecticut, Florida, New York, and Vermont. The cheeses were dispersed around the country, with the majority sold in retailers in the northern and Mid-Atlantic states, California, Chicago, Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. The FDA and CDC investigated and discovered that the company’s soft raw milk cheese was the cause of the incident.
In 2018, a federal judge ordered Vulto and his firm to stop producing ready-to-eat aged soft, semi-soft, and hard cheeses until they comply with food safety rules and take corrective procedures that satisfy the FDA. The government said that the cheeses were manufactured, packaged, or stored in unclean circumstances, and that the company never sought to identify the kind of bacterium or its source. The FDA also claimed that the corporation neglected to undertake microbiological testing on its completed product despite the discovery of Listeria on food contact surfaces.
On March 5, 2024, Vulto pleaded guilty in a Syracuse federal court to one misdemeanor count of causing the introduction of contaminated food into interstate commerce. According to US Attorney Freedman, the investigation and prosecution will hold the defendant and his company responsible for causing disease and death to customers via hazardous practices in an absolutely avoidable tragedy.
