The national listeria outbreak associated with precooked pasta dinners has grown, triggering a series of recalls by large supermarket chains and ready-to-eat food manufacturers.
The outbreak, which was reported in June, has been traced to Nate’s Fine Foods pasta that it supplies ingredients to processors such as FreshRealm and multiple grocery stores. The FDA reports that 20 cases were reported in 15 states, and there were 19 hospitalizations, four fatalities, and one confirmed fetal loss by the CDC.
Affected states are California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.
The FDA reported that linguine from Nate’s Fine Foods tested positive for the listeria strain that caused the outbreak. On September 25th, the firm initiated a recall of some lots of its precooked pasta, which was then extended to other meals like fettuccine, linguine, and bowtie pasta. The infected pasta had been used in meals sold by FreshRealm and marketed in major chains including Kroger, Walmart, Albertsons, Trader Joe’s, Giant Eagle, and others.
Recalled products include FreshRealm’s Home Chef Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, Marketside Grilled Chicken Alfredo, Linguine with Meatballs, and other supermarket deli pasta salads. Trader Joe’s Cajun Style Blackened Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and Scott & Jon’s Shrimp Scampi with Linguini Bowls have also been removed from the shelf.
Nate’s Fine Foods reported that it voluntarily pulled products “out of an abundance of caution” after it was informed of a possible association with the multistate outbreak. Experts such as Barbara Kowalcyk of George Washington University said that even though pasta is not a common source of listeria, any ready-to-eat food is a possible source for contamination after cooking.
In addition, the USDA revealed that two HelloFresh dinners made with spinach, Cheesy Pulled Pork Pepper Pasta and Unstuffed Peppers with Ground Turkey, were recalled as well due to potential listeria contamination. These spinach-related recalls are not associated with the ongoing outbreak, however.
Listeria is a soil-dwelling bacteria that occurs in raw food and processing environments. It can be transmitted in food processing plants by contaminated ingredients or equipment and develop biofilms that are resistant to cleaning. In the opinion of Ben Chapman, food safety professor at North Carolina State University, contamination usually happens when materials get into production facilities and spread silently.
Symptoms of listeria infection, or listeriosis, are from mild gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and nausea to more serious complications like sepsis or infections in the brain. At-risk groups are pregnant women, older adults, and those with compromised immune systems. Symptoms can occur within days but can also take two months to appear.
The CDC reported that the initial case of this outbreak occurred in August 2024 and the latest one was in September 2025. It is hard to track listeria outbreaks due to the long incubation period of the bacteria and the fact that it is hard to trace its origin in big manufacturing companies.
Experts warn that U.S. food safety surveillance has weakened in recent years due to reduced funding, which could mean more undetected outbreaks. Kowalcyk cautioned that without proper resources, future outbreaks may grow larger before being discovered.
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