Listeria Outbreak Expands As Several Trader Joe's Products Recalled

The latest: Products Sold At Walmart, Costco Recalled Amid Listeria Outbreak

MONROVIA, CA — The popular grocery chain Trader Joe's has recalled four products as part of a nationwide, multi-year dairy recall that has left two dead and over two-dozen sickened by listeria. The products are several salad kits and a pre-made enchilada dish.

Health officials warned consumers across the country to check their refrigerators amid a deadly listeria outbreak involving Rizo-López Foods products that were sold nationwide.

The California-based company voluntarily recalled several dairy products because they could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes deadly infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and those with weakened immune systems, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a notice Tuesday.

On Thursday, the FDA said Trader Joe's recalled certain products containing cotija cheese, as the cheese used to make those products could contain the monocytogenes. The cotija cheese used to produce the products was manufactured by Rizo-López Foods on Feb. 5, health regulators said. Rio- López Foods recalled dairy items, including cotija cheese, under multiple brand names.

No illnesses have been reported so far related to these products, the FDA said.

Trader Joe’s recalled all codes of the products listed below that were manufactured with cotija cheese and sold nationwide.

• Trader Joe’s Chicken Enchiladas Verde (SKU 58292)
• Trader Joe’s Cilantro Salad Dressing (SKU 36420)
• Trader Joe’s Elote Chopped Salad Kit (SKU 74768)
• Trader Joe’s Southwest Salad (SKU 56077)

Anyone who bought these products should throw them away or return them to any Trader Joe’s for a full refund.

As Patch previously reported, the outbreak has sickened 26 people across 11 states, mostly in the West and Southeast. As of Tuesday, eight people were reported sick in California, four each in Colorado and Arizona, two each in Texas and Tennessee, and one each in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One death was reported in California, and another in Texas.

Of the 26 people reported sick, 23 have been hospitalized.

Recalled products include cheese, yogurt, and sour cream sold under the brand names Tio Francisco, Don Francisco, Rizo Bros, Rio Grande, Food City, El Huache, La Ordena, San Carlos, Campesino, Santa Maria, Dos Ranchitos, Casa Cardenas, and 365 Whole Foods Market, according to officials.

A spokesperson for Whole Foods confirmed to Patch on Wednesday that their 365 Ricotta was distributed nationwide.

Products were also sold at retail deli counters including, but not limited to, El Super, Cardenas Market, Northgate Gonzalez, Superior Groceries, El Rancho, Vallarta, Food City, La Michoacana, and Numero Uno Markets, officials said.

"This outbreak includes cases dating back to 2014 and is currently ongoing," the FDA said Monday. "CDC investigated this outbreak in 2017 and 2021."