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A Paterson-based cheese manufacturer admitted to distributing contaminated queso fresco linked to a 2021 listeria outbreak that sickened multiple people and caused one death, according to authorities.

During a May 21 appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cari Fais, Abuelito Cheese Inc. (also known as El Abuelito Cheese) pleaded guilty to introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced.

Founded three decades ago in Passaic County, Abuelito’s lineup of manufactured Latin food products are distributed within New Jersey and neighboring states, according to officials.

After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted a February 2020 inspection of Abuelito’s facility on Main Street in Paterson, the FDA said it alerted the company of the presence of non-pathogenic Listeria innocua and Listeria grayi, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

In June 2020, the FDA issued a warning letter expressing concerns over alleged violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and warned that conditions at the plant were conducive to the growth of pathogenic Listeria monocytogenes.

Authorities said Abuelito’s products were later connected to a February 2021 listeria outbreak that led to 13 hospitalizations and one death. Impacted states included New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland.

Expanded recall

That month, the company recalled all queso fresco products made at its facility in Paterson. It also stopped producing and distributing the items.

It later expanded the effort to include all quesillo and requeson products that were made or packed at the same plant as the contaminated queso fresco.

When Abuelito returns for sentencing Oct. 15, the company faces a maximum penalty of five years of probation and a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain, or loss, resulting from the offense, whichever is greater, officials said.

Neither Abuelito nor an attorney representing the company immediately responded to a request for comment.

Final check

Earlier this year, the FDA upgraded a nationwide cheese recall initiated by a West Caldwell-based importer due to listeria concerns. Make sure you still don’t have these products.