The State Milk Board has announced that Homestead Creamery of Jamesport is voluntarily withdrawing a batch of its Flory's Favorite Cheese from the marketplace. Preliminary test results received from the Missouri State Health Laboratory indicate the cheese may be contaminated with Shiga-Toxin-producing E.coli, which can lead to food-borne illness. Confirmatory tests are ongoing.

The Homestead Creamery plant license to sell milk products in Missouri has been temporarily suspended, pending the results of the investigation by the State Milk Board and Missouri Department of Agriculture and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The withdrawn product, called "Flory's Favorite", is a 60-day aged cheese made with raw milk. Packages of the cheese are marked with "Packed on 210" on the label. According to the Ag Department, this affects approximately 250 pounds of cheese and does not affect any other dairy products from Homestead Creamery.

The withdrawn cheese was sold at the Homestead Creamery facility in Jamesport. Despite an Ag Department news release that said Hy-Vee stores in Trenton and Liberty also sold the product, KTTN News was told by Trenton Hy-Vee Store Director Steve Busch that his facility DID NOT sell Flory's Favorite Cheese.

The Missouri State Milk Board is continuing to review the company's records to determine when consumers may have purchased the product. Anyone who has purchased the cheese may return the unused portion to the store from where the product was purchased.

Copies of Missouri's regulations for milk products, including cheese, are available online at www.mda.mo.gov/animals/milk.