Listeria outbreak linked to California company has killed 6 and caused miscarriages, feds say

A listeria outbreak that has spread to 18 states, according to federal health officials, has killed half a dozen people and caused more than two dozen hospitalizations linked to frozen pasta available at stores including Trader Joe’s and Walmart.

A national food safety investigation into the outbreak found illnesses linked to frozen food recalls that sourced pasta from a Northern California company.

As of late October, the outbreak has killed six people, as well as sickened 27, many of whom were hospitalized, according to the latest update from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In one case, a pregnant woman had an abortion after becoming ill, the agency said.

Ready-made pasta dishes sold in grocery stores nationwide; In addition to Trader Joe’s and Walmart, they were available at Kroger, Sprouts Farmers Market and other major grocery stores.

Supplier, Nate’s Fine Foods Inc. Based in Roseville, expanded the list of recalled products in September and again in October.

NetFine Foods said in a statement on its website that it was recalling the products out of “an abundance of caution” and that the US Food and Drug Administration had conducted extensive testing at the facility but the results had come back negative.

“To date, no government agency has found any evidence of a specific strain of Listeria monocytogenes during thorough testing at Nate’s Fine Foods facilities or on products under its jurisdiction,” the company said in a statement Tuesday.

The outbreak began in June, prompting a recall of chicken fettuccine alfredo meals made by another company, FreshRealm Inc.

FreshRealm began testing pasta samples, which came back positive for Listeria monocytogenes in September. The supplier of the pasta was Netfine Foods, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.

Recalled products with use-by dates in late September and early October include Marketside’s linguine with beef meatballs and marinara sauce, sold at Walmart, and Trader Joe’s Cajun-style blanched chicken breast fettuccine alfredo.

Products that go on sale in mid-to-late October include Sprout Farmers Market Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad by Nito and Scott & Jon’s Shrimp Scampi with a Bowl of Linguine, a pre-cooked frozen meal.