Nearly 245,000 pounds of pasta linked to deadly listeria outbreak

More than 240,000 pounds of ready-to-eat cooked pasta products spread across major retailers — including Walmart, Kroger and Trader Joe's — have been linked to an ongoing nationwide listeria outbreak that has killed four people and hospitalized 19 others.

Nate's Fine Foods of Roseville, California, initiated a voluntary recall of 244,824 cases of pasta, including linguine, penne, fettuccine, which were distributed to retailers in California, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Texas, according to a Sept. 25 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report.

The recall was made after tests confirmed the pasta had the same strain of listeria bacteria found in prepared chicken fettuccine and meatball pasta products that have been a concern in the outbreak since August 2024.

The outbreak has resulted in 19 hospitalizations and four deaths across 15 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) . The last reported illness linked to this outbreak was on Sept. 11.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA) issued a health alert on Sept. 25 that two ready-to-eat pasta meals produced by Nate's Fine Foods — Walmart's Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs and Marinara Sauce and Trader Joe's Cajun Style Blackened Chicken Breast Fettuccine Alfredo — were being recalled.

Nate's Fine Foods said on its website Sept. 29 that it was voluntarily recalling select products after being notified about the potential link to a multistage outbreak of listeria.

"Nate's Fine Foods sincerely apologizes for the concern this may cause," the company wrote. "We remain fully committed to transparency and to taking every necessary step to protect the health and trust of our consumers."

Listeria "can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems," according to the FDA. "Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women."

Customers are told by the CDC to not eat the recalled foods and clean out their refrigerators, containers and surfaces that may have touched the affected foods. This is because listeria can survive in these areas and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces.

Nate's Fine Foods pasta meals affected by this recall are:

• Description: 6 by 5-pound (30-pound total) pouches, perishable keep frozen

  • Code Information: Lot: 2372521; Use by: Aug. 25, 2026

  • Quantity: 972 cases (29,160 pounds)

• Description: 6 by 5-pound (30-pound total) pouches, perishable keep refrigerated

  • Code Information: Lots: 2372522, 2432521, 2512521, 2572522; Use by: Oct. 9, Oct. 15, Oct. 23, Oct. 29 of this year

  • Quantity: 1,357 cases (40,710 pounds)

• Description: 8 by 3-pound (24-pound total) pouches, perishable keep refrigerated

  • Code Information: Lots: 2372523, 2432522, 2512522, 2572523; Use by: Oct. 9, Oct. 15, Oct. 23, Oct. 29 of this year

  • Quantity: 1,442 cases (34,068 pounds)

• Description: 8 by 3-pound (24-pound total) pouches, perishable keep refrigerated

  • Code Information: Lots: 2382521, 2452521, 2572524, 2512523; Use by: Oct. 10, Oct. 17, Oct. 29, Oct. 23 of this year

  • Quantity: 1,337 cases (32,088 pounds)

• Description: 5-pound pouches, perishable keep refrigerated

  • Code Information: Lots: 2452523, 2592521; Use by: Oct. 17, Oct. 31 of this year

  • Quantity: 52 totes (73,050 pounds)

• Description: 8 by 3-pound (24-pound total) pouches, perishable keep refrigerated

  • Code Information: Lot: 2532526; Use by: Oct. 10 of this year

  • Quantity: 383 cases (9,192 pounds)

• Description: 8 by 3-pound (24-pound total) pouches, perishable keep refrigerated

  • Code Information: Lot: 2532525; Use by: Oct. 10 of this year

  • Quantity: 261 cases (6,264 pounds)

• Description: 8 by 2.75-pound (22-pound total) pouches, perishable keep refrigerated

  • Code Information: Lots: 2532521, 2472524; Use by: Oct. 10, Oct. 4 of this year

  • Quantity: 846 cases (18,612 pounds)

• Description: 6 by 5-pound (30-pound total) pouches, perishable keep frozen

  • Code Information: Lot: 2572521; Use by: Sept. 14, 2026

  • Quantity: 56 cases (1,680 pounds)

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