“More than 10 people infected in the United States with listeria from ready-to-eat meals”

SAN FERNANDO, Calif. – A listeria outbreak in the U.S. has affected at least 10 people who consumed ready-to-eat food products. The producer, Fresh & Ready Foods LLC of San Fernando, California, is recalling multiple products as a precautionary measure.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration disclosed that the outbreak investigation involves collaboration between federal, state, and local authorities. The infected individuals, located in California and Nevada, had to be hospitalized as a result of the illness.

According to the FDA, the affected products were distributed in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Washington. These items were available at various retail outlets and food service establishments such as hospitals, hotels, convenience stores, airports, and onboard airlines.

Listeria symptoms usually start within two weeks of eating contaminated food. Mild cases can include fever, muscle aches, nausea, tiredness, vomiting and diarrhea, while more severe symptoms may include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.

Federal officials said they started investigating the recent outbreak last year but didn’t have enough evidence to identify a source of the infections. They said the investigation was reopened in April when FDA investigators found listeria in samples collected from Fresh & Ready Foods that matched the strain from the outbreak.

Fresh & Ready Foods said in a news release that it took immediate corrective actions including removing equipment to address the issue.

The FDA found that six of the 10 people who got sick had been hospitalized before becoming ill with listeria. The FDA found that items made by Fresh & Ready Foods had been served in at least three of the health care facilities where the patients had been previously treated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the test samples from sick patients were collected from December 2023 to September 2024.

Fresh & Ready voluntarily recalled several products, which can be identified by “use by” dates ranging from April 22 to May 19 of this year under the brand names Fresh & Ready Foods, City Point Market Fresh Food to Go and Fresh Take Crave Away.