Panera Bread has announced it is preemptively recalling all of the 2 ounce and 8 ounce cream cheese products sold at its 2,000 U.S. locations. The fast-casual chain said it had made its decision "out of an abundance of caution" after samples of one of its cream cheese varieties tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.
The company notes that "no illnesses have been reported."
"The safety of our guests and associates is paramount, therefore we are recalling all cream cheese products sold in the U.S. with an active shelf life. We have likewise ceased all manufacturing in the associated cream cheese facility," Blaine Hurst, Panera's president and CEO, said in a statement released Sunday.
He added that "only one variety of 2-ounce cream cheese from a single day yielded the positive result" — though the company is including at least 10 varieties across both sizes in its voluntary recall:
"Affected 2 oz. Cream Cheese Varieties (example pictured below): Plain Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Plain Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Chive & Onion Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Honey Walnut Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Wild Blueberry Cream Cheese.
"Affected 8 oz. Cream Cheese Varieties (example pictured below): Plain Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Plain Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Chive & Onion Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Honey Walnut Cream Cheese, Reduced-Fat Wild Blueberry Cream Cheese."
All of the varieties with an expiration date on or before April 2 have been included in the recall.