American Notes Los Angeles

Queso Fresco and Cotija are household words in many Hispanic homes, particularly in Los Angeles. The two south-of-the-border-style cheeses are made by the Jalisco Mexican Products Inc. plant in Artesia, Calif., whose major markets are in nine Western states. But 22 deaths or stillbirths in Los Angeles County have been linked to the soft white cheeses, which federal health officials say were contaminated with the deadly and fast-acting bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. In virtually all of the 94 confirmed cases, Hispanics have been the victims.

The bacterium causes a flulike disease that is most dangerous for people with low immunity, such as the elderly, pregnant women and infants. After the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta last week established the link between the outbreak and the cheese, the cheese products made by the 17-year-old Jalisco firm were removed from store shelves throughout the U.S. So far, no source has been found for the contamination, and county health officials are at a loss to explain how the deadly organisms could have survived the heat of pasteurization.