At least ten people sickened in listeria outbreak

FILE This illustration of an artistic recreation that was based upon scanning electron microscopic SEM imagery depicts a three-dimensional D computer-generated image of a grouping of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria Jennifer Oosthuizen CDC via AP File At least people in the U S have been sickened in a listeria outbreak linked to ready-to-eat food products and a producer is voluntarily recalling several products federal officers stated The Food and Drug Administration declared Saturday that federal state and local executives are exploring the outbreak linked to foods produced by Fresh Ready Foods LLC of San Fernando The FDA says the people who fell ill were in California and Nevada and required hospitalization The agency commented the products were sold in Arizona California Nevada and Washington at locations including retailers and food provision points of sale including hospitals hotels convenience stores airports and by airlines Listeria clues usually start within two weeks of eating contaminated food Mild cases can include fever muscle aches nausea tiredness vomiting and diarrhea while more severe effects may include headache stiff neck confusion loss of balance and convulsions Federal representatives reported they started reviewing the newest outbreak last year but didn t have enough evidence to identify a source of the infections They noted the examination was reopened in April when FDA investigators identified listeria in samples collected from Fresh Ready Foods that matched the strain from the outbreak The FDA detected that six of the people who got sick had been hospitalized before becoming ill with listeria The FDA detected that items made by Fresh Ready Foods had been served in at least three of the wellbeing care facilities where the patients had been previously treated The Centers for Affection Control and Prevention reported that the test samples from sick patients were collected from December to September Fresh Ready voluntarily recalled several products which can be identified by use by dates ranging from April to May of this year under the brand names Fresh Ready Foods City Point Domain Fresh Food to Go and Fresh Take Crave Away A message seeking comment from Fresh Ready Foods was left Sunday