New Listeria outbreak detected; other outbreaks remain under investigation

Inspectors with the Food and Drug Administration are tracking a new outbreak of infections from Listeria monocytogenes.

So far there are three confirmed patients. The FDA has not reported the ages of the patients or where they live. 

There are likely many more sick people than have been confirmed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that for every patient confirmed in a Salmonella outbreak there are 29 patients who go undetected. This is because some patients do not seek medical  attention and others are not specifically tested for Salmonella infection.

A source of the pathogen has not yet been found, but it is early in the investigation. The FDA has begun traceback but has not reported what food is being traced. Also, the agency has begun sample testing but has not reported what is being tested.

In other outbreak news, the FDA reports that the patient count in an outbreak of infections from Salmonella Newport has increased to 31, up from 29 patients a week ago. The agency has not reported how old the patients are or where they live.

As of March 5 the agency had begun traceback efforts but has not reported what food is being traced. The FDA first posted information about the outbreak on Feb. 20.

An outbreak of Listeria infections traced to frozen shakes continues. The outbreak has sickened 38 people across 21 states. 12 people have died.

The frozen shakes were distributed to nursing homes and hospitals. They were not available for retail sale. The shakes were use as nutritional supplements for patients and were sometimes used for patients who required fluid diets.

The Food and Drug Administration was notified of the outbreak on Nov. 25, 2024. However, the agency did not report the cause of the illnesses until Feb. 21 this year.

“FDA’s traceback investigation identified that each of the long-term care facilities who supplied invoice information for review from 2024 to present received a frozen supplemental shake of either Sysco or Lyons ReadyCare brand. As part of this investigation, FDA collected environmental samples and found the outbreak strain of Listeria,” according to a notice from the FDA that was released after 7 p.m. Eastern time on Feb. 21.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that cases in the outbreak date back as far as 2018. The bulk of the confirmed patients, 20, were identified in 2024 and 2025.

The shakes are packaged in 4-ounce cartons under the Lyons Magnus and Sysco brands. All of the implicated shakes have been recalled. The frozen shakes were produced by Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. at its facility in Fort Wayne, IN.

On Feb. 4, FDA collected environmental samples at Prairie Farms for testing. On Feb. 19, whole genome sequencing showed that the Listeria in the environment of the production facility matches bacteria from sick people.

For an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections, the investigation continues. The FDA has traced the infections to imported frozen mini pastries. The outbreak is associated with a similar situation in Canada.

In the United States there are 18 confirmed patients with one of them requiring hospitalization. There are 69 confirmed patients in Canada with 22 of them having been hospitalized. Neither country has reported any deaths.

The outbreak has been linked to Sweet Cream-brand mini pastries manufactured in Italy and exported into the United States by Importations Piu Che Dolci Inc. of Quebec, Canada.

On Jan. 21 the FDA was notified about the outbreak in the United States that is caused by the same strain as the infections in Canada. The U.S. agency did not report whether this outbreak is the same one it reported about on Feb. 5 as having an unknown source.

In an outbreak of Listeria infections, the patient count stands at 36. The source of the pathogen has not yet been determined. The FDA has begun traceback efforts but has not reported what food is being traced. The agency has also begun an onsite inspection and sample testing but has not reported what location is being inspected or what is being tested.

The FDA first posted information about the outbreak on Jan 15. The agency has not reported the ages of the patients or where they live.

Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/03/new-listeria-outbreak-detected-other-outbreaks-remain-under-investigation/