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Listeria found Walmart meatball meals may be linked deadly fettuccine outbreak

5 hours ago
  • #Walmart recall
  • #listeria outbreak
  • #food safety
  • Federal health officials warn against eating certain beef meatball pasta meals sold at Walmart due to possible listeria contamination.
  • Affected products are Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs & Marinara Sauce in 12-ounce trays with best-by dates from Sept. 22 to Oct. 1.
  • Products contain establishment numbers 'EST. 50784' and 'EST. 47718' inside the USDA mark of inspection.
  • No recall issued, but distributor FreshRealm advised Walmart to remove the products from shelves.
  • Contamination involves the same listeria strain linked to a previous outbreak tied to chicken fettuccine Alfredo, which caused 4 deaths and 20 illnesses.
  • FreshRealm detected listeria in linguine used in the meatball dish, matching the strain from the previous outbreak.
  • Listeria infections can be severe, especially for older adults, immunocompromised individuals, and pregnant women/newborns.
  • CDC reports about 1,600 listeria infections and 260 deaths annually in the U.S.