U.S. District judge has issued a permanent injunction against an award-winning cheesemaker outside Olympia in long-running legal battle over listeria contamination.
The injunction bars Estrella Family Creamery, once a premiere producer in the Northwest, from selling cheese outside Washington state.
The family-run operation, which distributed raw milk cheese to specialty shops in Washington, Oregon and elsewhere, was shut down by the Food and Drug Administration in 2010 following persistent problems with listeria at its facility in Montesano.
The closure saddened a number of gourmet cheese aficionados, including Tami Parr, past president of the Oregon Cheese Guild.
