Frozen Waffle Recall Sparks Nationwide Listeria Warning

A large number of frozen waffle products have been recalled due to potential contamination with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes.

TreeHouse Foods, Inc. voluntarily recalled several hundred waffle products across 25 of its brands, which have been distributed around the U.S. and Canada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced. Newsweek has contacted TreeHouse Foods for comment.

The brands involved include:

• Always Save
• Best Choice
• Bettergoods
• Breakfast Best
• Compliments
• Clover Valley
• Essentials
• Food Lion
• Foodhold
• Giant Eagle
• Good & Gather
• Great Value
• Hannaford
• Harris Teeter
• H-E-B Higher Harvest
• Kodiak Cakes
• No Name
• Pics By Price Chopper
• Publix
• Schnucks
• Se Grocers
• Selection
• Simple Truth
• Tops
• Western Family

The recalled products include a vast range of frozen waffles, such as blueberry waffles, chocolate chip waffles, pumpkin waffles, buttermilk waffles, multigrain waffles, homestyle waffles, and protein waffles.

The FDA has listed all the affected products, and has urged customers to check their freezers.

“Consumers and retailers can identify the UPC on the back of the carton, and the Lot Code and Best By Date for these products on the end of the carton,” the FDA said.

Customers are encouraged to dispose of the products if they find them, or return them to where they bought them.

The products were recalled after a routine test at the TreeHouse Foods manufacturing facility.

Listeria monocytogenes is a type of bacteria that can cause a serious infection known as listeriosis. It is commonly found in contaminated food, particularly in raw or unpasteurized dairy products, deli meats, and some processed foods.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says listeria infection is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the U.S., with about 1,600 infections and 260 deaths across the country every year.

“Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea,” the FDA says.

Listeria is notable because it can grow in colder temperatures, including in refrigerators, which makes it more challenging to control compared to other bacteria.

Vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women, newborns, elderly people, and individuals with weakened immune systems are most at risk, and in severe cases, the infection can spread to the nervous system, leading to meningitis or encephalitis.

“Listeria monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women,” the FDA said.

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