Federal health officials issued a warning late Monday, advising against consuming certain Hello Fresh meal kits due to potential listeria contamination in the spinach included.
The U.S. Agriculture Department released a public health alert concerning these meals, which were produced by FreshRealm, a company from San Clemente, California, involved in an expanding listeria outbreak related to heat-and-eat pasta meals.
The affected products are Hello Fresh Ready Made Meals Cheesy Pulled Pork Pepper Pasta in 10.1-ounce containers and Hello Fresh Ready Made Meals Unstuffed Peppers with Ground Turkey in 10-ounce containers. Both products were shipped directly to consumers.
The pork pepper pasta carries establishment number Est. 47718 with lot code 49107 or Est. 2937 with lot code 48840. The unstuffed peppers with ground turkey have Est. P-47718 and lot codes 50069, 50073, or 50698.
The issue was identified when FreshRealm informed the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service about the spinach in the products testing positive for listeria bacteria.
Last month, FreshRealm acknowledged that testing revealed the presence of the same listeria strain in pasta for linguine dishes sold at Walmart, previously associated with a June outbreak. This outbreak, initially linked to chicken fettucine Alfredo, resulted in at least four deaths and 20 illnesses, with the latest case reported on September 11.
FreshRealm officials said genetic testing found the outbreak strain of listeria in samples of pasta made and supplied by Nate’s Fine Foods of Roseville, California.
Several additional companies including Kroger, Giant Eagle and Albertson’s have recalled pasta salads and other dishes made with products from Nate’s Fine Foods for potential listeria contamination.
Listeria infections can cause serious illness, particularly in older adults, people with weakened immune systems and those who are pregnant or their newborns. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.
About 1,600 people get sick each year from listeria infections and about 260 die, the CDC says. Federal officials in December said they were revamping protocols to prevent listeria infections after several high-profile outbreaks, including one linked to Boar’s Head deli meats that led to 10 deaths and more than 60 illnesses last year.
