Listeria outbreak has resulted in a national recall of ready-to-eat chicken fettuccine alfredo items being sold at Walmart and Kroger grocery stores nationwide in the United States. The recall, initiated on June 18, 2025, follows when 17 individuals across 13 states became ill with three fatalities and one miscarriage occurring with the tainted products.
The recalled products
FreshRealm, a leading California-based food manufacturer with plants in California, Georgia, and Indiana, voluntarily recalled all its chicken fettuccine alfredo products manufactured prior to June 17, 2025. The recall is on the following products shipped to Walmart and Kroger retail outlets nationwide:
- 32.8-ounce jars of Marketside Grilled Chicken Alfredo with Fettuccine (Tender Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce, Shaved Parmesan Cheese and White Meat Chicken) with best-by dates of June 27, 2025, or before.
- 12.3-ounce jars of Marketside Grilled Chicken Alfredo with Fettuccine (Tender Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce, Shaved Parmesan Cheese, Broccoli and White Meat Chicken) with best-by dates of June 26, 2025, or before.
- 12.5-ounce Heat & Eat Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo containers from Home Chef (containing pasta, grilled white meat chicken, and Parmesan cheese) with “best by” dates of June 19, 2025, or sooner.
The recalled items can be recognized by the fact that they have the USDA mark of inspection on the package labeling and establishment numbers “EST. P-50784,” “EST. P-47770,” or “EST. P-47718” on the side label.
The listeria outbreak investigation
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and public health friends are tracing the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak that has infected individuals in 13 states. The outbreak strain was recovered from ill individuals during dates from August 2024 through May 2025.
The identical outbreak strain was identified in a later chicken fettuccine alfredo product FSIS obtained during a visit to one of the FreshRealm facilities in March 2025. The suspect batch was retained upon sampling, destroyed, and never entered commerce. The actual source of contamination remains undetermined by follow-up investigations.
FSIS traced the chicken fettuccine alfredo products from purchase receipts of two sick individuals to FreshRealm facilities. Two additional sick individuals reported the purchase of chicken fettuccine alfredo products that the individuals mentioned were comparable in composition to FreshRealm products.
Health risks and symptoms
Listeria monocytogenes causes listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and newborns. The symptoms normally appear within two weeks of eating contaminated food but may appear as early as the same day or as late as 10 weeks after eating.
Common signs and symptoms are fever, muscle pain, headache, sore neck, confusion, dizziness, and convulsions, followed by diarrhea or other intestinal disease in a few cases. During pregnancy, the condition may lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm delivery, or severe infection of the newborn. The condition is treated with antibiotics, with intravenous ampicillin most often being used. Gentamicin antibiotic plus ampicillin is also recommended by most physicians.
What consumers should do
FSIS worries that the recalled foods can still be found in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. Consumers who purchased the products are told not to eat them. Instead, they should:
- Get rid of the recalled products or return the products to the store where they bought them for a refund.
- Sanitize or disinfect the surface that came in contact with the recalled foods since Listeria is a bacterium that may survive refrigerated temperatures and transfer easily to other foods and surfaces.
- Hand wash with soap and warm water after sanitizing and cleaning.
- Watch for symptoms of listeriosis, particularly if you are considered a high-risk individual.
- Get immediate medical attention if you have developed symptoms since consuming the recalled foods and notify your health care provider of the potential exposure.
FreshRealm alerted Walmart and Kroger to pull these dinners from store shelves and from inventory. The investigation is ongoing as FSIS continues to collaborate with its public health partners to determine if a particular ingredient in the chicken fettuccine alfredo can be the cause of this strain of Listeria monocytogenes.
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