Urgent recall for chicken fettuccine alfredo ‘linked to three deaths and a pregnancy loss’

Ready-to-eat chicken fettuccine alfredo products have been recalled after being linked to a listeria outbreak blamed for three deaths and the loss of a fetus.

FreshRealm on Tuesday recalled several items ‘that may be adulterated with an outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm)’.

The Lm outbreak has affected 17 people in 13 US states and as of Tuesday, there were three reported deaths and one fetal loss associated with it, according to the nation’s public health

A few months ago in March, the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) discovered the same outbreak strain in samples of the chicken fettuccini alfredo they collected as part of a routine check.

‘The lot of chicken fettuccine alfredo represented by this sample was held during sampling, destroyed, and never entered commerce,’ stated the FSIS in its announcement on Wednesday.

FSIS officials also linked the outbreak back to the chicken fettuccine alfredo through the purchase records of two sick customers. Two other sick customers provided descriptions of the products that inspectors verified at stores were from FreshRealm.

Inspectors done more product ingredient examinations at the FreshRealm facilities and have not found the source of the contamination.

An investigation into the source continues.

‘FSIS is sharing what is currently known regarding products associated with the outbreak as the agency continues to work with public health partners to identify whether a specific ingredient in the chicken fettucine alfredo may be the source of this strain of Lm,’ stated the agency.

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