Chicken fettuccine Alfredo products voluntarily recalled over listeria concerns

Yahoo

6 hours ago

Ready-to-eat grilled chicken fettuccine Alfredo products that were sold at Walmart and Kroger have been voluntarily recalled due to possible listeria contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Tuesday.
Food manufacturer FreshRealm's establishments in San Clemente, California; Montezuma, Georgia; and Indianapolis, Indiana, are voluntary recalling the prepared pasta dishes because they "may be adulterated with an outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes," the FSIS stated.
The recalled products may be linked to a multistate outbreak of listeria infections across 13 states that has sickened 17 people and resulted in at least three deaths in Illinois, Michigan and Texas as of this week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One "pregnancy associated illness resulted in a fetal loss," the agency said Wednesday.
Three products are affected by the recall.
According to FreshRealm, the meals were sold nationwide "at Walmart, under the Marketside brand and Kroger, under the Home Chef brand."
The affected products include:
32.8-ounce tray packages containing "MARKETSIDE GRILLED CHICKEN ALFREDO WITH FETTUCCINE Tender Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce, White Meat Chicken and Shaved Parmesan Cheese," with best-by dates of June 27, 2025, or prior.
12.3-ounce tray packages containing "MARKETSIDE GRILLED CHICKEN ALFREDO WITH FETTUCCINE Tender Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce, White Meat Chicken, Broccoli and Shaved Parmesan Cheese," with best-by dates of June 26, 2025, or prior.
12.5-ounce tray packages containing "HOME CHEF Heat & Eat Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with pasta, grilled white meat chicken, and Parmesan cheese," with best-by dates of June 19, 2025, or prior.
The products have a USDA mark of inspection on the label, as well as establishment numbers EST. P-50784, EST. P-47770 or EST. P-47718 printed on the side of the packaging, the FSIS said this week.
"FreshRealm has notified Walmart and Kroger to remove this meal from their shelves and inventory. Consumers who have purchased the meal should destroy it or return it to the place of purchase for a refund," FreshRealm stated in a press release Wednesday, adding that the company "remains committed to the highest standards of food safety" and is "working closely" with the Food and Drug Administration, FSIS and CDC "to provide full transparency and access throughout the process."
The recall does not apply to any other FreshRealm products, the company said.
Consumers with questions about the recall can contact FreshRealm customer service at [phone].
The outbreak strain of listeria was identified in samples collected from sick individuals between Aug. 1, 2024, and May 27, 2025.
State and local public health officials interviewed 11 people about the foods they consumed in the month before they got sick, and seven reported eating pre-cooked meals, with four stating specifically that they had eaten chicken fettucine Alfredo products.
The outbreak strain of listeria was isolated from a routine chicken fettuccine Alfredo sample collected by FSIS in a FreshRealm establishment in March 2025. The agency noted that "the lot of chicken fettuccine alfredo represented by this sample was held during sampling, destroyed, and never entered commerce," and "subsequent investigations at the establishment that produced this product, and into the product ingredients, have not identified the source of contamination."
In its press release Wednesday, FreshRealm stated that it "has not received any direct reports of illness associated with the product and has received information on cases from the regulatory agencies, including that four consumers have reported eating the chicken alfredo product."
"The recalled product has not been established as a cause of any of these cases," the company said.
Of the 17 people sickened by the outbreak strain of listeria, 16 were hospitalized.
According to the CDC, the "true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely higher than the number reported," and the outbreak "may not have been limited to the states with known illnesses ... because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for Listeria."
"In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak," the CDC stated.
Listeria is a bacteria that when ingested can cause an infection known as listeriosis, according to the CDC.
The condition is most dangerous for pregnant people, newborns, people with weakened immune systems and adults 65 or older, the agency said. For people who are pregnant, being infected by listeria can cause pregnancy loss or premature birth.
According to the CDC, an estimated 1,600 people get listeriosis annually in the U.S. and about 260 people die from it.