Prepared meals recalled after three dead, 17 sick
By: Natalie Neysa Alund
USA Today
..... Some ready-to-eat meals sold at Walmart and Kroger are being recalled after multiple deaths and more than a dozen illnesses reported due to listeria poisoning, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
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FreshRealm is recalling certain chicken fettuccine Alfredo products that may contain an outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes contamination, which can cause listeriosis, or listeria poisoning.
..... The Food and Drug Administration reported that the agency and public health partners including the Centers for Disease Control and Supervention are investigating a listeria outbreak in connection to the prepared meals. As of June 18, [2025] the outbreak had sickened 17 people in 13 states. Sixteen of the 17 people were hospitalized, according to the CDC.
..... Also as of June 18, [2025] there had been three reported deaths and the lost of an unborn child associated with the outbreak, Bailey McWilliams,a FSIS spokesperson, confirmed.
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The recalled meals were shipped to Kroger and Walmart retail locations across the United States. They are:
* Marketside Grilled Chicken Alfredo with Fettuccine: 32.8 -ounce tray package containing "tender pasta with creamy Alfredo sauce, white meat chicken and shaved Parmesan cheese, expiring 6/27/25 or prior.
* Marketside Grilled Chicken Alfredo with Fettuccine: 12.3-ounce tray package containing "tender past with creamy alfresco sauce, white meat chicken, broccoli and shaved Parmesan cheese," expiring 06/26/25 or prior.
* Home chef Heat & Eat Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo: 12.5-ounce try package containing "pasta grilled white meat chicken, and parentheses cheese, expiring 6/19/25 or prior.
..... The products bear the USDA mark of inspection on the product label along with the following establishment numbers on the side of the packaging: P-50784. P-47770, P-47718.
..... For consumers who brought the item and froze it, the USDA said to throw it away.
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The latest reported illness onset, according to the federal agency, took place on May 10. [2025] USA Today has reached out to FreshRealm.
..... With three people sick, Texas reported the most people ill form the listeria outbreak, followed by Michigan at two. Listeria cases were also reported in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, south Carolina and Virginia.
..... Listeria positioning is a food-born bacterial infection most commonly caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, according to the CDC. It is considered a serious condition and can be dangerous or life-threatening, especially too older adults, people with weak immune systems and pregnant women.
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Symptoms include, per the CDC, fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions, diarrhea, other gastrointestinal symptoms, miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery and/or life=threatening infection of newborn infants. Death may result.
..... People in higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within two months after eating contained food should seek medical care.
..... Consumers with questions regarding the recall can contact FreshRealm's customer service at 888-244-1562. Those with food safety questions call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotime (674-6854).