10 Sickened in Listeria Outbreak Linked to Ready-to-Eat Foods

At least 10 people in California and Nevada have been hospitalized in connection with a listeria outbreak linked to ready-to-eat foods from Fresh & Ready Foods LLC, based in San Fernando, California. The US Food and Drug Administration says it is working with state and local officials to investigate. The impacted products were sold across Arizona, California, Nevada, and Washington at a variety of locations, including hospitals, hotels, convenience stores, airports, and airlines, the AP reports.

Listeria infections can produce a range of symptoms, from fever, muscle aches, vomiting, and diarrhea to more severe neurological effects. It can take up to 10 weeks from eating contaminated food for symptoms to appear, though they typically appear within two weeks, NBC News reports. According to the FDA, the 10 known cases all required hospitalization, with six of the patients having been admitted for other reasons before their listeria illness. Investigators discovered that at least three of the health care facilities where patients had been treated had served food products from Fresh & Ready Foods.

Health officials started probing the outbreak last year but initially failed to identify the source. The investigation resumed in April when listeria that matched the outbreak strain was found in food samples from Fresh & Ready Foods. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says patient samples connected to the outbreak were collected from December 2023 through September 2024.

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Fresh & Ready Foods has issued a voluntary recall for several products, citing "use by" dates between April 22 and May 19 of this year, sold under Fresh & Ready Foods, City Point Market Fresh Food to Go, and Fresh Take Crave Away brands. The company says it has taken corrective action, including removing equipment. More details on the affected products here. (A listeria outbreak linked to tainted shakes killed at least a dozen people.) (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)