Officials warn retailers about E. coli risk in cheese product

State regulators warned Wednesday that a cheese product sold in stores may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, and they urged retailers and consumers to dispose of the product.

Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson said testing by the state had found a generic form of E. Coli – not the more dangerous E. coli O157:H7 strain -- in samples of Santa Rose Cheese, Naturally Aged White Cheese at the manufacturer's Miami warehouse.

The state said retailers should look for Naturally Aged White Cheese with product codes 565 and 589 in various package sizes. Those products should be returned to Santa Rosa Cheese, which has a warehouse at 4795 N.W. 72nd Avenue in Miami. Consumers who have purchased the cheese should return it to the store from which they bought it.