Check Your Freezer: Popular Pasta Sold Nationwide Recalled Over Deadly Bacteria Contamination Fears

Shoppers who picked up frozen pasta at Walmart recently may want to check their freezers as a popular store-brand dish has been pulled from shelves across the country over contamination concerns.

Gias Foods has issued a nationwide recall of two lots of its bettergoods Authentic Italian Lemon Alfredo Fettuccine after testing revealed the product may carry Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria capable of causing serious illness. The pasta was sold at Walmart locations from coast to coast, though so far no illnesses have been reported.

The recalled product comes in a 22-ounce yellow plastic package with the UPC 194346442706, and customers can identify the affected lots by the codes L6079C or L6080C, along with expiration dates of 09/19/2027 or 09/20/2027 stamped on the back.

The problem was first flagged not by federal regulators but by state inspectors, as routine sampling by agriculture officials in Washington State and Florida turned up the bacteria in finished products. In response, the company has stopped shipping the pasta while it works with the FDA to determine what went wrong.

What makes Listeria especially alarming is how easily it goes unnoticed. Contaminated food can look, smell and taste perfectly normal while still causing severe and sometimes fatal infections. And because symptoms can take as long as 70 days to show up, anyone who ate the pasta should keep an eye on their health for weeks to come.

Those symptoms include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache and a stiff neck, and since they can resemble other illnesses, only specific lab tests can confirm an infection. Health officials urge anyone who ate the product and feels sick to seek medical care and tell their doctor about the possible exposure.

The recall revives unwelcome memories for Walmart shoppers. Just last year, a Listeria outbreak linked to pasta meals from Nate’s Fine Foods left at least six people dead and 25 hospitalized after the products reached Walmart, Kroger, Trader Joe’s and other major retailers.

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