USDA warns on Marketside linguine beef meatballs for listeria risk

Federal food safety officials on Thursday warned consumers not to eat certain Marketside heat-and-eat beef meatball pasta meals sold at Walmart after tests found listeria in the linguine used in the product, and the strain matched one tied to a deadly outbreak earlier this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a public health alert for Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs Marinara Sauce sold in refrigerated 12-ounce clear plastic trays with best-by dates of Sept. 22 through Oct. 1. The affected packages bear establishment numbers EST. 50784 and EST. 47718 inside the USDA mark of inspection and were distributed to Walmart stores nationwide.

No formal recall has been announced, but FreshRealm, the food producer that distributed the meals, said it advised Walmart this week to pull the products from store shelves. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said additional products could be identified as investigators continue testing. FreshRealm said its own tests detected listeria in the linguine and that the strain matched the bacteria identified in an outbreak earlier this summer linked to chicken fettuccine Alfredo sold at Walmart and Kroger stores. That...