Listeria Alert Issued for Hello Fresh Meals

Health officials in the U.S. have issued an alert over possible listeria in Hello Fresh ready-to-eat meals. Two products shipped to consumers containing spinach could be contaminated with listeria, which can cause serious health problems or even death in vulnerable people. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued the health alert late Monday after FreshRealm, a contractor that produces the meals for Hello Fresh, conducted regular tests on its spinach for listeria monocytogenes that came back positive. The two products to look out for include a cheesy pulled pork pepper pasta and unstuffed peppers with ground turkey, according to the warning posted by FSIS online: 10.1-oz. containers of “HELLO FRESH READY MADE MEALS CHEESY PULLED PORK PEPPER PASTA” with establishment number “Est. 47718” and lot code 49107 or establishment number “Est. 2937” and lot code 48840. 10-oz. containers of “HELLO FRESH READY MADE MEALS UNSTUFFED PEPPERS WITH GROUND TURKEY” with establishment number “P-47718” and lot codes 50069, 50073, or 50698. There haven’t been any confirmed reports of anyone getting sick from the Hello Fresh products, but many food illnesses go unreported in the U.S. When it comes to listeria, the biggest concern is for pregnant women, newborns, those 65+, and people with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC, all of whom can have some of the worst outcomes. FreshRealm has been at the center of several food recalls lately, including a listeria outbreak that’s sickened at least 20 people and killed four. That recall involves prepared pasta that was distributed to major retailers like Walmart and Trader Joe’s, among a host of other grocery chains. The pasta recall involved one of FreshRealm’s suppliers, Nate’s Fine Foods, though in the case of this new Hello Fresh health alert, FreshRealm is the only company mentioned. The CDC estimates that about 1,250 people in the U.S become sick from listeria each year, with 172 people dying from the infection. Listeria is the third leading cause of foodborne illness in the country. Norovirus is the most common among Americans, with about 5.5 million illnesses and 22,400 hospitalizations. But salmonella is the most deadly, causing an estimated 238 deaths each year, according to the CDC. Consumers with questions about the recall impacting Hello Fresh meals are encouraged to reach out to FreshRealm’s customer service hotline at 1-888-244-1562 or [email protected], according to the FSIS. FreshRealm didn’t immediately respond to questions on Tuesday afternoon. Gizmodo will update this article when we hear back.