Four people have died in a listeria outbreak linked to frozen meals sold at Walmart and Kroger stores, prompting federal health officials to issue an urgent new warning about similar products that may be contaminated.
The outbreak has sickened at least 20 people across 15 states, with all but one of the cases resulting in hospitalizations. According to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of deaths from the contamination had risen to four as of Friday.
While the investigation is ongoing, the listeria outbreak has been linked to a June recall of ready-to-eat meals made by FreshRealm. The manufacturer discovered that pre-cooked pasta in its chicken fettuccine Alfredo meals tested positive for listeria. These products were sold nationwide at Walmart and Kroger stores under the brand names Marketside and Home Chef.
A Walmart spokesperson told The Post, “The health and safety of our customers is always a top priority. We have removed these products from our impacted stores and we are working with the supplier to investigate.” Kroger did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
On Thursday, the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert about two additional products. The agency urged customers not to eat Trader Joe’s Cajun-style blackened chicken breast fettuccine Alfredo or Marketside linguine with beef meatballs, both made by FreshRealm and sold at Walmart.
FSIS expressed concern that some of these products may still be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers and advised that they should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
Trader Joe’s also warned customers on its website to discard or return the chicken product. A Trader Joe’s spokesperson told The Post, “At Trader Joe’s, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our customers and Crew Members.”
Consuming listeria-tainted products can cause listeriosis, a serious infection especially harmful to older adults, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women, and their newborns, according to FSIS. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headaches, stiff neck, convulsions, and diarrhea.
Listeriosis can be fatal for individuals with weakened immune systems. In pregnant women, the infection can lead to miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery, or life-threatening infections in newborns.
FreshRealm detected the listeria strain in its linguine with beef meatballs during routine testing. The bacteria was found in the pre-cooked pasta, which was supplied by a third party, the company said.
Authorities are currently awaiting additional information to determine whether the listeria-positive pasta samples carry the same strain responsible for making people ill, according to the CDC.
https://nypost.com/2025/09/29/business/us-issues-urgent-warning-about-trader-joes-walmart-meals-as-listeria-deaths-climb-to-4-people/