Health alert issued after heat-and-eat pasta dish sold at Walmart linked to deadly listeria outbreak

What to know about listeria

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Listeriosis is an infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

A public health alert has been issued for a heat-and-eat pasta meal that was sold at Walmart that has been linked to a deadly listeria outbreak, federal officials said.

The alert was announced by the U.S. Agriculture Department for Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs & Marinara Sauce.

The meals were sent to Walmart stores nationwide.

Deadly listeria outbreak

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The meals were sold in 12-ounce clear plastic trays and had best-by dates of Sept. 22 through Oct. 1.

No recall has been officially issued, but FreshRelm, a large food producer that distributed the products, said they advised Walmart this week to pull the meals from store shelves.

The meals may be contaminated with the same strain of listeria that caused an outbreak during the summer.

The cases were tied to chicken fettuccine Alfredo sold at Walmart and Kroger stores.

Three died, and at least 17 were sickened.

FreshRealm conducted tests that detected the listeria in linguine used in the meatball dish, company officials said. The strain matched the listeria identified in the chicken fettuccine Alfredo outbreak, the company said.

"We have long maintained that the source of the listeria was likely an ingredient supplied by a third party," the company said in a statement.

The pasta came from Nate's Fine Foods of Roseville, California.

What is listeria?

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.