Seventeen people have been sickened in a new Listeria monocytogenes outbreak tied to FreshRealm chicken fettuccine alfredo heat and serve meals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday. Of the 17, 16 have required hospitalization and 3 people have died.
A pregnant woman who was sickened has also reported fetal loss following her infection, the CDC said. Cases have been reported in 13 states, and the deaths were reported from Illinois, Michigan, and Texas.
Texas has the most cases with 3. Michigan and Louisiana each have 2 cases, and Nevada, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida each have a single case.
This outbreak may not have been limited to the states with known illnesses.
“The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely higher than the number reported, and this outbreak may not have been limited to the states with known illnesses,” the CDC said.
Meals sold at Kroger, Walmart
Of the 11 people interviewed, 7 reported eating precooked meals, and 4 (57%) specifically reported eating chicken fettuccine alfredo. Illness onset dates range from July 24, 2024, to May 10, 2025. The prepared meals were sold at Kroger and Walmart under the Marketside and Home Chef brand names in those stores’ refrigerated sections.
The Food and Drug Administration said the outbreak strain was isolated from a routine chicken fettuccine alfredo sample collected by the Food Safety and Inspection Service in a FreshRealm establishment in March 2025.
FreshRealm recalled chicken fettuccine Alfredo meals on June 17, 2025. Officials said they are worried some tainted packages could still be in consumers’ refrigerators. All packages recalled have best buy dates of 06/27/25, 06/26/25, and 06/19/25, or earlier.
None of FreshRealm’s frozen meals are included in the recall.
“Do not eat recalled foods. Throw them away or return them to where you bought them,” the CDC said. “Clean your refrigerator, containers, and surfaces that may have touched the recalled foods. Listeria can survive in the refrigerator and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces.”
Listeria can be a serious bacterial infection for older people, young children, those with compromised immune systems, and pregnant women. In pregnant women, even mild illness can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth.
