The Region : Oil Reportedly Added Illegally to Cheese

Officials have discovered that vegetable oil was added to Jalisco Mexican-style cheese, a practice prohibited by state law, but a Jalisco Mexican Products spokesman said the oil would not have contained the bacteria linked to a disease that has been blamed for deaths and stillbirths. The vegetable oil, which was apparently used an an inexpensive substitute for milk fat, was discovered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week. Listeriosis, a flu-like disease linked to consumption of the tainted cheese, has been blamed for at least 78 deaths and stillbirths statewide.