Federal health officials said a recall involving packaged meals contaminated with listeria has resulted in more reported illnesses and an additional death.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the deadly listeria outbreak involving packaged pasta meals produced by FreshRealm Inc. has now impacted 20 people across 15 states.
The CDC said four people in total have died — in Illinois, Michigan, Texas, and Utah — and 19 people had to be hospitalized in connection to this listeria outbreak. Officials said "one pregnancy-associated illness resulted in a fetal loss."
Officials said the true number of cases and the states that are impacted may be higher than the numbers they have gathered.
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"This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for listeria. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak," the CDC said.
In the health agency's first announcement about the outbreak in June, it said the initial cases of listeria identified were traced to consumption of FreshRealm chicken fettuccine alfredo heat-and-serve meals, sold under the Marketside and Home Chef brands, which tested positive for the outbreak strain and were recalled.
The recall also impacts pasta products sold by Trader Joe's and Albertson's.
Now, the CDC said the pasta in FreshRealm's beef meatball marinara linguini meals, made by Nate's Fine Foods, has also tested positive for listeria, but the product has not been distributed.
According to the CDC, listeria can cause severe intestinal illness. Those most at risk are pregnant women, newborns, those over 65 years old and people who are immunocompromised.
