More pasta recalled after deadly Listeria outbreak: List of stores includes Trader Joe’s and Albertsons

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued additional warnings related to possible Listeria contamination in pasta products.

The warnings suggest that the Listeria outbreak, which has sickened at least 20 and killed four since last year, is far from over. Here’s what you need to know about the latest warnings and which foods are being recalled this time.

What’s happened?

On September 30, the FDA posted a new recall notice to its website, which adds 11 new items to the list of pasta products being recalled due to Listeria contamination fears.

On the same day, the CDC updated its Listeria Outbreak page to note an additional pasta item that has now been recalled from Trader Joe’s. The same day, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) also updated its public health alert regarding ready-to-eat pasta meals to include the Trader Joe’s pasta product.

These newly recalled products are just the latest ones believed to be possibly infected with Listeria, a potentially deadly bacterium.

The CDC has traced this outbreak to as far back as August 2024. During the remainder of that year, there were five known cases of illness related to the outbreak. However, so far in 2025, the total from the previous year has tripled to 15, bringing the total number of illnesses linked to this outbreak to 20.

Unfortunately, there have also been four fatalities linked to the outbreak. Of the 20 individuals made sick by the outbreak, 19 required hospitalization.

What new products are being recalled?

A number of new products are being recalled. Those include one product sold at Trader Joe’s:

• “Trader Joe’s Cajun style blackened chicken breast fettucine alfredo” 

The above product came in 16-oz. plastic tray packages and had the “best if used by” dates of 9/20/2025, 9/24/2025, or 9/27/2025.

A separate recall is on a larger scale. This recall includes 11 bowtie pasta products sold by grocery giant Albertsons Companies. This recall includes the following products with select sell-through dates:

In what stores were the products sold?

The “Trader Joe’s Cajun style blackened chicken breast fettucine alfredo” was sold at: 

• Trader Joe’s

The other pasta products listed above were sold in a number of Albertsons Companies stores, according to the recall notice posted on the FDA’s website, including:

• Albertsons
• Albertsons Market
• Amigos
• Andronico’s Community Markets
• Carrs-Safeway
• Eagle
• Pak ‘N Save
• Pavilions
• Market Street
• Randalls
• Safeway
• Tom Thumb
• Vons

What states were the products sold in?

According to the above notices, the “Trader Joe’s Cajun style blackened chicken breast fettucine alfredo” product was sold at Trader Joe’s locations in the following states:

• Arizona
• California
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• Utah

The other pasta products listed above were sold by Albertsons Companies stores in the following states:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Hawaii
• Louisiana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Texas
• Utah
• Wyoming

What is Listeria and what are its symptoms?

Listeria is a bacterium that can cause severe illness in people, according to the CDC. The illness can stay local to the intestines or spread to other parts of the body (invasive). 

In America, about 1,250 people contract a Listeria infection each year. Despite the relatively small number of infections, the illness has a high death rate. About 172 people in America die annually from the infection.

Intestinal Listeria illness symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting. Invasive Listeria illness includes fever and flu-like symptoms in pregnant individuals as well as headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and seizures in other individuals.

While anyone can contract a listeria infection, the illness is particularly harmful for individuals who are aged 65 or older, and those who are pregnant, have weakened immune systems, or are newborns.

What should I do if I have the recalled products?

The FDA says anyone with the recalled products should not consume them. Instead, they should dispose of the product or return it to its place of purchase.

Additionally, the FDA warns those who have the recalled products should “use extra vigilance in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces and containers that may have come in contact with these products to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.”

The agency notes that Listeria can survive in refrigerated temperatures and spread to other food and surfaces with ease.

You can read the complete details of the latest Listeria notices and warning updates here, here, and here.

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