Grundy County Health issues warning on listeria in pasta meals

According to the Grundy County Health Dept., there has been a listeriosis (listeria) outbreak linked to precooked pasta meals. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), six people have died, and another 27 have been hospitalized.
In addition to Illinois, cases of listeriosis have been reported in California Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.
The outbreak is tied to prepared pasta meals from Nate’s Fine Foods of Roseville, CA. Nate’s supplies precooked pasta and grains to the wholesale food service and restaurant industries.
The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises anyone who purchased the above meals to throw them away, and clean their refrigerator and any surfaces that may have come in contact with the food.
Widespread
implications
To date, Illinois has reported at least one case of listeria related to Nate’s Fine Foods. The state has also reported one death thus far. There are typically 20 cases of listeria reported per year in Illinois. However, since listeria is underreported, the actual number of cases is significantly higher.
The recalls, which began in June, affect dozens of products, including pasta salads, scampi linguini bowls trays of Alfredo, beef meatballs, marinara, and more. Most of the use-by dates are earlier than Oct. 10.
Popular national stores have had to issue recalls including Walmart, Albertson’s (owner of Jewel-Osco), Kroger, and Trader Joe’s.
Nate’s Fine Foods, Inc., does not sell products directly to retail, which complicates identifying tainted products. The corporation is working with the FDA to determine whether additional recalls will be necessary. In addition to the prepackaged entrees listed, other recalled products include:
• Sprouts Farmers Market Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad.
• Giant Eagle Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad
• Kroger deli bowtie and penne pasta salads.
• Scott and Jon’s Shrimp Scampi with Linguine bowls.
• Trader Joe’s Cajun Style Blackened Chicken Breast Fettuccine Alfredo
• Albertson’s store-made deli pastas.
• Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs and Marinara Sauce
• Marketside Grilled Chicken Alfredo with Fettuccini
• Home Chef Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
What is listeriosis
According to Cleveland Clinic, listeriosis is a form of food poisoning caused by Listeria monocytogenes.
Listeria may begin to manifest within a few days to several weeks after consuming tainted products.
For most, listeriosis causes mild flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, diarrhea, and vomiting.
For older adults, infants, those with weakened immune systems, and pregnant individuals, symptoms may be life-threatening. Pregnant women may pass the infection to the fetus, leading to possible miscarriage.
More serious infections include severe headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions. Additionally, listeria has been known to increase the risk of blood clots, damage to the intestinal tract, and invade the bloodstream, spreading to the brain, spinal cord, and heart.
Listeriosis can mimic a heart attack because severe cases may lead to inflammation of the heart lining or the heart muscle itself, which may cause chest pain, shortness of breath, and cardiac arrest.
According to the Mayo Clinic, most symptoms of listeria are mild and self-limiting. However, get emergency care if you develop a high fever, intense headache, stiff neck, confusion, discomfort or pain due