- By Supratik Das
- Mon, 12 May 2025 05:03 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
US listeria outbreak: At least 10 people in the United States have been hospitalised after a listeria outbreak caused by contaminated ready-to-eat food products, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reported. The outbreak has been traced to Fresh & Ready Foods LLC, San Fernando, California-based. The contaminated food products were sent out to Arizona, California, Nevada, and Washington markets, and sold in numerous venues including hospitals, hotels, convenience stores, airports, and even on airlines. After the discovery of Listeria monocytogenes, Fresh & Ready Foods voluntarily recalled several products with the brand names Fresh & Ready Foods, City Point Market Fresh Food to Go, and Fresh Take Crave Away, having "use by" dates from April 22 through May 19, 2025.
Federal health agencies first started tracking the outbreak during 2023, but they were unable to make progress with too little evidence. The case was reopened on April 2025, as FDA investigators reported finding Listeria in samples of food from Fresh & Ready Foods that correlated with the patients' strain detected in California and Nevada. Notably, six of the 10 hospitalised patients had been admitted to healthcare institutions where Fresh & Ready's products were being served.
What is Listeria And What Are The Symptoms?
Listeria is a hardy bacteria that reproduces at cold, wet temperatures, down to 31°F. It can infect meats, unpasteurized milk products, smoked fish, and bagged salads. The disease it produces, listeriosis, is particularly life-threatening to pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems.
Symptoms can be from mild ones like fever, muscle aches, nausea, and diarrhea to serious illnesses such as stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and even convulsions. The symptoms in pregnant women might manifest only with flu-like symptoms but can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, or fatal illness in the newborn.
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Symptoms of listeriosis, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), can show up from a few hours to two months from the time people ate contaminated food. Specimens taken from patients who were affected range from December 2023 to September 2024, highlighting the long duration of the outbreak.
Ways To Prevent Listeria
Experts highlight that listeriosis can be prevented by using proper hygiene and food handling. Some important steps are:
• Wash hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food.
• Regularly clean and sanitize kitchen surfaces and refrigerators.
• Avoid raw milk and unpasteurized soft cheeses.
• Heat meats and hot dogs to an internal temperature of 165°F before consuming.
• Keep cold foods chilled below 40°F, and never leave cooked food at room temperature for more than two hours.
• Especially pregnant women, seniors, and people who are immunocompromised, are all strongly urged to steer of some high-risk foods.
In a press release, Fresh & Ready Foods stated that they took "immediate corrective action," which meant removing equipment and updating safety measures to mitigate against contamination risks. The company is working with federal and state authorities throughout the on-going investigation.
