Pasta Meals May Be Contaminated with Listeria at Walmart, Trader Joe’s

A public health alert has been issued for two ready-to-eat pasta meals that may be contaminated with Listeria.

Walmart’s Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs and Marinara Sauce and Trader Joe’s Cajun Style Blackened Chicken Breast Fettuccine Alfredo are subject to the public health alert issued on Thursday, Sept. 25, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

The products, according to the agency, are part of a larger investigation related to a Listeria outbreak in chicken fettuccine Alfredo meals. 

The Walmart product is sold in 12-ounce clear tray packages with 2025 best by dates of Sept. 22, Sept. 24, Sept. 25, Sept. 29, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. The product has the establishment number 50784 or 47718 inside the USDA mark of inspection. 

The Trader Joe’s product comes in 16-ounce plastic tray packages with the 2025 best by dates of Sept. 20, Sept. 24 and Sept. 27. The product has an establishment number of P-45288.

The contamination was discovered when one of the producing companies collected samples of the pre-cooked pasta in part of the ongoing investigation, per the FSIS.

The test revealed that the linguine pasta was positive for Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), although it is unclear if the listeria is related to the same outbreak strain. 

The Listeria outbreak was declared in June after FreshRealm recalled chicken fettuccine Alfredo meals distributed to Kroger and Walmart under the Marketside brand and Home Chef brands, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Trader Joe’s issued a statement about the recall on Sept. 26, advising customers to “please discard the product or return it to your local Trader Joe’s for a full refund.”

“We are issuing this guidance in an abundance of caution because testing of another brand with a shared ingredient source indicated this product may have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes,” the statement continued.

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As of Friday, Sept. 26, the CDC reported that there have been four deaths and 19 hospitalizations across 15 states as a result of the outbreak.

In addition to not consuming the possibly contaminated foods, the CDC advised cleaning refrigerators and any containers or surfaces that may have touched the affected foods.

Listeriosis is commonly associated with fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion and gastrointestinal symptoms, per the FSIS.

“Persons in the higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within two months after eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the health care provider about eating the contaminated food,” the FSIS stated.