Food Safety Concerns During a Listeria Outbreak and the Government Shutdown

Deadly Listeria Outbreak Linked to Ready-to-Eat Meals

On September 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert for ready-to-eat meals containing FDA-regulated pre-cooked pasta that may have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The alert has now been connected to a growing multistate outbreak.

What is Listeria?

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne bacterium that causes listeriosis, a serious infection especially dangerous to pregnant people, newborns, older adults, and those with weakened immune systems. Unlike many pathogens, Listeria can survive and even multiply in refrigerated environments, making it uniquely hard to control in foods we assume are safe to store cold.

Where It’s Been Found

The current outbreak is linked to Trader Joe’s Cajun Style Blackened Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and Walmart’s Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs & Marinara, among other pre-packaged pasta meals. These items were produced by a common supplier and distributed across multiple states. Past recalls this year have also involved frozen nutritional shakes and deli meats, underscoring how widely Listeria can infiltrate the food supply.

Scope of the Outbreak

So far, 19 people have been hospitalized and at least 4 have died in connection with this outbreak. Similar Listeria incidents earlier this year tied to pasta meals and frozen supplemental shakes led to dozens more illnesses and deaths nationwide.

Symptoms and Treatment

Symptoms of listeriosis typically appear a few days to several weeks after eating contaminated food. They include fever, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea, and, in severe cases, confusion, stiff neck, or seizures. Pregnant individuals may only have mild flu-like symptoms, but infection can cause miscarriage, premature birth, or stillbirth. Treatment involves antibiotics, and early medical attention is critical, especially for vulnerable populations such as immunocompromised individuals, newborns, and the elderly.

How Consumers Can Protect Themselves

• Check recall alerts from the CDC, FDA, and USDA before eating packaged meals.

• Reheat deli meats, hot dogs, and prepared meals until steaming hot to kill bacteria. Listeria monocytogenes is killed by standard cooking temperatures, dying at 165°F (74°C) almost instantly.

• Avoid unpasteurized dairy products and soft cheeses made from raw milk.

• Clean refrigerators, utensils, and cutting boards regularly to limit cross-contamination.

Because Listeria contamination cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted, the only way to know food is safe is through regulatory testing and recalls.

Food Safety Risks During a Government Shutdown

One unsettling question looms: How will a federal government shutdown impact foodborne illness detection, oversight, and recall responses – especially for listeria? Agencies like the FDA and USDA are operating understaffed, leading to fewer inspections at food processing plants, delayed laboratory testing and genetic sequencing of bacteria, slower outbreak investigations and recalls, and gaps in consumer alerts and public communication. Public health experts warn that such delays could keep contaminated products on shelves longer, increasing exposure.

Based on historical precedent, contingency plans, and legal frameworks, these agencies are expected to continue:

• Under contingency plans, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has designated outbreak monitoring and disease surveillance as essential functions that must continue.

• The FDA has stated that during a shutdown, activities related to “imminent threats to the safety of human life or protection of property” will continue, including responding to foodborne illness outbreaks, managing recalls, and conducting high-risk surveillance.  

• The FDA also plans to use carryover user fees and other residual funding sources to maintain certain operations, although taking on new user-fee-based work (e.g., accepting new applications or initiating new inspections funded this way) is generally prohibited during a funding lapse.  

• Within HHS’ contingency staffing plan, approximately 59% of the staff will remain active, while 41% will be furloughed.  

While operations are scheduled to mostly continue, many functions are being scaled back or even halted:

• Routine inspections and audits at food production facilities may be suspended or dramatically reduced. Historically, during shutdowns the FDA has delayed or halted non-emergency inspections.  

• Laboratory surveillance, molecular subtyping, and cross-state outbreak linking (for example, via PulseNet or other genomic networks) could slow or be curtailed. In past shutdowns, the CDC’s capacity for national surveillance and connecting cases across states was weakened.  

• Public communications, guidance, and data reporting may lag. Some routine data collection, public health messaging, or updates on illnesses may be delayed.  

• Longer-term food safety research, rulemaking, and non-urgent regulatory work are likely to be paused or postponed.  

Will the CDC Still Issue Alerts for Listeria?

Yes, but with caveats. Because outbreak detection and public health communication are deemed essential, the CDC is expected to continue publishing health alerts around immediate threats like listeria, especially when linked to food recalls. The HHS contingency plan explicitly states that outbreak monitoring is to be maintained.  

However, the speed and depth of those alerts may slow due to reduced staffing. The CDC’s ability to trace outbreaks across multiple states, integrate laboratory data, and issue real-time updates could be impaired. Surveillance systems that rely on ongoing funding or staff resources may operate at reduced capacity.

Thus, contaminated food products might remain on shelves longer, or recalls might be delayed. Without routine inspections, small lapses in sanitation or process control might go unnoticed. The lag in linking cases across states means some outbreaks may go undetected or spread further before being contained. Consumers may receive delayed warnings or insufficient guidance in a timely fashion. Once the shutdown ends, agencies will likely face backlog pressure, further stretching timelines for catching up.

Knowing the risks means knowing how to act.

If you think you may have eaten contaminated food, watch closely for symptoms. Thankfully, listeriosis is treatable. Prompt medical care and antibiotics can make all the difference, especially for those most at risk. Knowledge is power. In the absence of full federal oversight, recognizing the signs early and acting quickly is one of the most effective tools we have against Listeria.