Listeria Outbreak Linked To California's Fresh & Ready Foods Prompts Recall Across 4 States — 10 Hospitalized As FDA, CDC Investigate Contamination

Federal health officials have linked a listeria outbreak that hospitalized 10 people to a California-based food producer, prompting a voluntary recall of ready-to-eat products across four western states.

What Happened: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Saturday that San Fernando-based Fresh & Ready Foods LLC has been identified as the source of contamination that sickened people in California and Nevada, reported the Associated Press.

The investigation initially began last year but was reopened in April when FDA investigators found listeria in samples collected from Fresh & Ready Foods that matched the strain from the outbreak.

The contaminated products were distributed to retailers and food service points of sale, including hospitals, hotels, convenience stores, airports and by airlines in Arizona, California, Nevada and Washington, according to the FDA.

Fresh & Ready Foods has voluntarily recalled several products with “use by” dates from April 22 to May 19 under multiple brand names: Fresh & Ready Foods, City Point Market Fresh Food to Go and Fresh Take Crave Away.

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Why It Matters: Fresh & Ready Foods said in a news release that it took immediate corrective actions, including removing equipment to address the issue, AP report noted.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that test samples from sick patients were collected between December 2023 and September 2024, with six of the 10 affected individuals having been hospitalized before contracting listeria.

This outbreak follows a similar recall by Albertsons Companies Inc. ACI which voluntarily recalled 12 types of ReadyMeals and deli items supplied by Fresh Creative Foods due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

That recall was triggered after routine tests by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) detected contamination in a ready-to-eat chicken ingredient from BrucePac in Durant, Oklahoma.

The recalled items were sold across several major retail chains including Albertsons, Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Vons, and stores across several states, including California, Texas, Illinois, and Washington.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.