Whole Foods shoppers who bought specified Cabricharme cheese can destroy it and receive a full refund with a valid receipt, according to a September 11 recall notice. The cheese contains undeclared egg lysozyme, creating a potentially serious risk for people with an egg allergy. The notice covers products sold at 18 stores in seven states, not every Whole Foods location or every cheese.
The label details decide whether a package is covered
Whole Foods Market recalled Fromagerie Coop de Mean Cabricharme Raw Milk–Aged 60 days and Belgian Cabricharme because egg lysozyme, an egg-white protein, was not declared on the label. The cheeses were cut and plastic-wrapped by the pound with a Whole Foods Market scale label.
The FDA-posted recall notice lists the product descriptions, PLU numbers, states and best-by dates. Shoppers should compare the package against that table rather than rely only on the cheese’s appearance or the store brand.
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Undeclared egg can turn an ordinary food into a medical risk
Egg is one of the major food allergens that must be declared on packaged-food labels. A person who is allergic to egg can have a reaction even when the cheese looks, smells and tastes normal. Cooking or trimming the product is not a reliable way to correct an undeclared-allergen recall.
The FDA’s food-allergy guidance says reactions can range from mild symptoms such as hives to severe, life-threatening anaphylaxis. Anyone who develops symptoms after eating the cheese should seek medical help appropriate to the severity and follow an established emergency allergy plan.
The recall notice says no illnesses had been reported when the announcement was posted. That status describes reports known at that time; it does not make a covered package safe for a person with an egg allergy.
The refund instruction is unusually direct
The company told consumers who bought the recalled cheese to destroy it. Shoppers may bring a valid receipt to the place of purchase for a full refund. The notice does not say the contaminated food must be carried back into the store, which avoids transporting a product that a household has been told to destroy.
A photograph of the package, store label and receipt can preserve the identifying information before disposal. The image should show the product name, sell-by date, price and store when possible. A card statement may help establish a purchase, but the published full-refund instruction specifically calls for a valid receipt.
The FDA’s consumer recall guidance advises checking the recall notice carefully and following its directions for return or disposal. It also recommends cleaning surfaces that may have contacted a recalled food and avoiding consumption based on taste tests.
The recall is limited by products, dates and stores
The affected cheese reached 18 Whole Foods stores in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. The raw-milk aged product bears PLU 57953 and dates through October 7, while Belgian Cabricharme bears PLU 54670. The notice’s state and date table remains the controlling check.
The recall did not announce a universal Whole Foods cheese problem. Other brands, product names and sell-by dates are not automatically covered. Shoppers should use the FDA notice’s table, not social-media summaries that may omit a date or location.
No refund deadline was published in the notice checked September 14. A shopper with a matching receipt should still act promptly, document the package and contact the purchase location if the refund cannot be processed. The immediate safety action is clearer: a covered product should not be eaten, particularly by anyone with an egg allergy.
Households without an egg allergy should still follow the recall. A package can be shared with a guest, child or caregiver whose allergy is not known to everyone in the home. Leaving a covered product in a communal refrigerator transfers the identification problem to the next person.
A recall notice can also change as distribution records are reviewed. Saving the FDA page or checking it again before disposal provides the latest product table and contact information. Retail signs and emailed notices are useful alerts, but the federal posting gives the most complete published scope.
If a receipt is digital, the shopper should preserve the order record or loyalty-account entry in a form that can be shown at the store. The recall itself does not guarantee that another form of proof will replace the specified valid receipt.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor. Figures are linked to their primary sources; where a claim could not be verified from the public record, we say so.
