FreshRealm, LLC
Outcome
FSIS issued a Class I recall of FreshRealm chicken fettuccine alfredo meals sold under Kroger and Walmart store brands after a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak caused 17 illnesses, 16 hospitalizations, 3 deaths, and 1 fetal loss across 13 states; contamination was traced to pasta supplied by Nate's Fine Foods.
Details
FreshRealm, LLC — Listeria Outbreak, 3 Deaths (Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, 2025)
Outcome: FSIS issued a Class I recall of FreshRealm chicken fettuccine alfredo meals on June 17, 2025, after Listeria monocytogenes caused 17 illnesses, 16 hospitalizations, 3 deaths, and 1 fetal loss in 13 states; the outbreak strain was confirmed in pasta ingredients supplied by Nate's Fine Foods.
FreshRealm, LLC is a Ventura County, California–based ready-to-eat meal kit manufacturer that supplies refrigerated prepared meals to major national retailers. The implicated product — Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo — was sold under the Marketside brand at Walmart and the Home Chef brand at Kroger. The outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes was identified in ill people with illness onset dates ranging from July 24, 2024, through May 10, 2025, indicating contamination had been present in the supply chain for at least eleven months before the public recall.
FSIS collected a routine sample of chicken fettuccine alfredo from a FreshRealm establishment in March 2025 and confirmed the outbreak strain of L. monocytogenes. That specific production lot was held, destroyed, and never entered commerce. However, the broader contamination problem had not been traced to its source, and production continued. By June 2025, CDC and FSIS confirmed the outbreak strain in pasta ingredients manufactured by Nate's Fine Foods, a pasta supplier to FreshRealm. Deaths were confirmed in Illinois, Michigan, and Texas. The outbreak investigation remained active as of early 2026, with at least 6 deaths and 25 hospitalizations ultimately linked in expanded case counts.
Affected products were recalled with best-by dates ranging across the 2024–2025 production window. The case illustrates how supplier-level contamination can evade finished-product testing and persist undetected across a major distribution network supplying hundreds of retail locations nationwide.
Primary Source: FreshRealm Recalls Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo Products | FSIS
How Crucible Prevents This
The contamination was traced to a pasta supplier (Nate's Fine Foods), yet FreshRealm's finished product entered commerce under major retailer brands. Crucible's supplier verification protocol — enforced as a documented DECISIONS checkpoint — would require firms to maintain and regularly review supplier food safety certifications. The FSIS environmental positive was detected in March 2025 but that production lot was destroyed; the wider contamination problem persisted until June 2025, suggesting the supplier audit loop had not been closed.
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