At least six people have died and several hospitalised due to a listeria outbreak linked to recalled pasta meals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Public health officials, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS), reported that 27 people in 18 states have been infected with the outbreak strain of listeria.
What is Listeria?
According to the CDC, listeria is “a bacteria that can contaminate many foods.” People who eat contaminated food can start showing symptoms as soon as the same day or even up to 10 weeks later.
Out of the 26 patients whose details were available, 25 were hospitalised and six died in the states of Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, Texas and Utah. One pregnancy-related case sadly led to the loss of a baby.
True number of cases may be higher, says CDC
The CDC added that the actual number of sick people may be higher because it can take three to four weeks to confirm if an illness is linked to the outbreak and some may recover without medical help.
In June, health data showed that chicken fettuccine alfredo meals made by FreshRealm were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. These contaminated meals were found to be making people sick.
Following that, FreshRealm tested its ingredients and pasta supplied by Nate’s Fine Foods, a ready-to-eat food manufacturer based in Roseville, California. Nate’s Fine Foods later voluntarily recalled over 245,000 pounds of prepared pasta dishes.
The CDC confirmed that ingredients from Nate’s Fine Foods tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.
State and local health officials are still “gathering information of what ill people ate before getting sick.” They have urged consumers to return or throw away any recalled food products.