Whole Foods Market is recalling a specialty cheese sold at 18 stores in seven states because it contains egg lysozyme, an egg-white protein that was not listed on the label, according to the company's announcement posted by the FDA on September 11. The recalled product is Fromagerie Coop de Mean Cabricharme cheese.
The affected stores are in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. The cheese was sold in specialty cheese departments, where it was cut, wrapped in plastic, and sold by the pound with Whole Foods scale labels. No illnesses had been reported when the recall was announced.
The risk is narrow but serious. "People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to eggs run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product," the notice states. For parents managing a child's egg allergy, a wedge of cheese is rarely the food that gets a second look, which makes this recall easy to miss.
An Egg Ingredient Shoppers Might Not Expect in Cheese
Lysozyme is an enzyme some cheesemakers use to prevent a defect known as late blowing, which happens when bacterial spores grow as cheese ages, researchers explained in a 2013 study published in the European Journal of Nutrition. Because the enzyme is made from hen egg white, it carries an egg allergy risk.
German food chemists Nadine Schneider and Monika Pischetsrieder concluded in a chapter of the Handbook of Cheese in Health that "it cannot be excluded that sufferers from an egg allergy show adverse reactions to lysozyme used as preservative in cheese." They noted that studies on the question have reached conflicting conclusions and wrote that lysozyme must therefore be declared on the packaging of cheese that contains it.
Evidence on how often people actually react is limited. In the 2013 study, which tested Grana Padano cheese in egg-allergic children, 5 of 21 children sensitized to lysozyme had reactions after eating 12-month-aged cheese containing the enzyme. Symptoms included itching, abdominal pain, vomiting, hives, asthma, and swelling. Only 1 of the 21 children reacted to lysozyme-containing cheese aged 24 months.
That study was small and tested a different, longer-aged hard cheese, so it cannot predict how any one person will respond to this product. One of the recalled labels describes the cheese as aged 60 days.
In the United States, eggs are one of nine major food allergens that must be declared on labels, and undeclared allergens are the most common cause of food recalls, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. The department lists lysozyme among egg-derived ingredients.
Checking the Label in New York, California, and Five Other States
Two label descriptions are covered, both with best-by dates up to and including October 7, 2026. The first reads Formagerie Coop de Mean Cabricharme Raw Milk, Aged 60 Days (the scale label uses that spelling), carries PLU code 57953, and was sold in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. The second reads Belgian Cabricharme, carries PLU code 54670, and was sold in California and Arizona.
Because the cheese was cut and wrapped in the store, the Whole Foods scale label is the way to identify it. With best-by dates running into October, some wedges may still be in home refrigerators.
The notice does not name the 18 stores, so shoppers should check the PLU code on the label rather than relying on where they shop.
This recall concerns labeling, not bacterial contamination. Whole Foods said a store team member discovered the mislabeling and that all affected product has been removed from shelves.
Reactions to Watch For After Eating It
People without an egg allergy or egg sensitivity face no allergen risk from this product. For those with an egg allergy, reactions can include itching, hives, swelling of the lips or face, stomach pain, vomiting, a runny nose, or wheezing.
Anyone who ate the cheese and has mild symptoms should contact a clinician or allergist for guidance. Trouble breathing, throat tightness, dizziness, or fainting can signal anaphylaxis, a medical emergency. People with a prescribed epinephrine auto-injector should use it as directed and call 911.
Parents should watch young children closely, since they may not be able to describe what they feel. This article is general information and is not a diagnosis.
Refunds, Cleanup, and a Repeat Labeling Problem
Customers do not need to return the cheese. Whole Foods urges them to destroy it, and anyone who bought it can get a full refund with a valid receipt from the store where they bought it. Customers with questions can call the company at 1-844-936-8255 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central Time on weekdays or 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central Time on weekends. Households managing a severe allergy may also want to wash cutting boards, knives, and containers that touched the cheese.
This is not the first time the chain has faced this problem. In 2022, Whole Foods recalled Zerto Fontal cheese from 54 stores in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York because it contained undeclared egg lysozyme, according to an earlier FDA notice. That mislabeling was discovered through a customer complaint of illness. This time, a store employee caught it first.
The repeat raises a fair question for grocers that cut and relabel specialty cheeses in stores: whether supplier ingredient details, including enzymes like lysozyme, consistently reach the scale labels shoppers read. The recall notice does not explain how the omission happened.
Shoppers with egg allergies can ask cheese counter staff for full ingredient information before buying cut-to-order products. Anyone who had a reaction can report it to the FDA.
For now, households with an egg allergy should check any Cabricharme in the refrigerator for PLU 57953 or 54670 and a best-by date through October 7, and throw out any match.
Key Questions Answered
What is being recalled? Fromagerie Coop de Mean Cabricharme cheese sold by the pound in Whole Foods specialty cheese departments, labeled with PLU 57953 or PLU 54670 and best-by dates up to and including October 7, 2026.
Why was it recalled? The cheese contains egg lysozyme, an egg-white protein that was not declared on the label.
Which states are affected? Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island, at 18 stores that the notice does not name.
Who is at risk? People with an egg allergy or severe egg sensitivity. Others face no allergen risk from this product.
Have any illnesses been reported? No illnesses had been reported when the recall was announced on September 11.
What should customers do? Do not eat it. Destroy the cheese, clean surfaces it touched, and bring a valid receipt to the store for a full refund.
When is emergency care needed? Trouble breathing, throat tightness, dizziness, or fainting after eating it may signal anaphylaxis. Use prescribed epinephrine and call 911.
