Massive Cheese Recall Affects Idaho Shoppers

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who think cheese makes everything better and those who are well,…wrong.

Celebrating something with your besties? Charcuterie. Too tired to cook? Mac and cheese. Idaho winter makes you wonder why you live where the air hurts your face? Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Bad day at work? We will NOT judge you if you just shove your hand into a bag of shredded cheese when you get home.

But before you do that, you’re going to want to check the label. The name Great Lakes Cheese Co may not be a familiar name in Idaho households, but they’re responsible for a significant amount of America’s packaged cheese products. We’d bet that if we opened your fridge right now, there’s a good chance we’d find Lucerne (our go-to when we shop at Albertsons,) Great Value (Walmart’s private label) or Good & Gather (Target’s private label) shredded cheese.

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All of these brands are part of Great Lakes Cheese Co’s voluntary recall of more than 1.5 million bags of shredded cheese. According to USA Today, the company initiated the recall back in October, but it only recently received a Class II designation that means it could cause “temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences," which launched it into the headlines.

Why Great Lakes Cheese Co. Issued the Recall

The newspaper explains that the recall was the result of the company discovering there may be metal fragments in the cheese. Consuming those could lead to injuries of the tongue, mouth, teeth and parts of the gastrointestinal tract.

The potentially contaminated products were removed from store shelves in October, but because the sell-by or best-by dates are marked as February or March 2026, there’s a good chance that this cheese is still in refrigerators in 31 states, including Idaho. Here’s a full look at the recalled products.

Here’s a quick look at the brands/varieties affected. If you have one of these in your home click HERE to see the list of UPC and expiration dates affected.