Frozen pasta sold at Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, Walmart linked to deadly listeria outbreak

A listeria outbreak that federal health officials say has swept 18 states, killing a half-dozen people and causing more than two dozen hospitalizations, is linked to frozen pasta available at stores including Trader Joe’s and Walmart.

A national food safety investigation into the outbreak traced the illnesses to recalls of frozen pasta meals from a Northern California company.

By the end of October, the outbreak had killed six people and sickened 27, the majority of whom had been hospitalized, according to the latest update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In one case, a pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage after falling ill, the agency said.

The prepared pasta dishes were sold in grocery chains nationwide; Besides Trader Joe’s and Walmart, they were available at Kroger, Sprouts Farmers Market and other major grocery stores.

The supplier, Roseville-based Nate’s Fine Foods Inc., expanded its list of recalled products in September and again in October.

Nate’s Fine Foods said in a statement on its website that it was recalling the products out of “an abundance of caution” and that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had conducted extensive testing at its facilities but the results were negative.

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

The outbreak began in June, prompting the 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 Nate’s Fine Foods, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Recalled products with use-by dates in late September and early October included Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs and Marinara Sauce, sold at Walmart, and Trader Joe’s Cajun-Style Blackened Chicken Breast Fettuccine Alfredo.

Products with expiration dates in mid-to-late October included Sprouts Farmers Market’s Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad and Scott & Jon’s Shrimp Scampi with Linguini Bowl, a pre-cooked frozen meal.