Salmonella outbreak investigation triggers massive Canadian deli meat recall

An outbreak of Salmonella infections in Canada has increased to encompass 87 confirmed cases in four provinces according to an update report from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) released on July 19, 2025.

Outbreak-related illnesses have been reported in Alberta (68), British Columbia (1), Manitoba (1), and Ontario (17). Nine people have been hospitalized. The British Columbia case is related to travel to Alberta.

Victims range in age from one to over 100 years.

Many people who became sick reported eating salami in prepared sandwiches or purchased from deli counters where the recalled products were served.

Marini Foods Limited, the producer of the implicated meats, has expanded its initial recall to include 13 different brands of salami and cacciatore products. The recalled items were distributed to grocery stores, specialty markets, restaurants and cafés, delis, and butcher shops in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.

The recalled brands include:

Bona
Cosmo’s Smoked Meats
Imperial Meats
Longos
Luc’s European Meats Cheese & Eats
Marini Salumi
Naturissimo
P&E Foods
Rea
Speziale Fine Foods
Superior Meats
T.J. Meats
Vince’s Cured Meats Corp.

Please follow the live link for a detailed list of affected products and lot codes.

What consumers, retailers, and distributors need to know (per PHAC)

Check to see if you have the recalled products in your home or establishment by looking for the specific product name and size, UPC and codes in the recall alerts.
Do not consume, serve, use, sell or distribute recalled products or any product made with them.
Throw out or return recalled products to the location where they were purchased. Consumers or establishments who are unsure if they have purchased the recalled products are advised to contact their retailer or supplier where the products were purchased.
Consumers who have purchased a prepared sandwich or meal and are unsure if it contains recalled products are advised to contact the retailer where the item was purchased.
Do not cook food for other people if you’ve been diagnosed with a Salmonella infection or any other gastrointestinal illness.
Contact your health care provider if you think you’re experiencing symptoms of Salmonella.

Most people who become ill from a Salmonella infection will recover fully after a few days without treatment, but it can also cause severe illness and hospitalization.

The Salmonella strain associated with this outbreak investigation is multi drug-resistant, which means it’s resistant to certain antibiotics (streptomycin, kanamycin, ampicillin, and sulfisoxazole). Other antibiotics are available to treat illnesses associated with this outbreak strain, if antibiotic treatment is considered necessary.

TAINTED formats 3 — “Reads like a true crime novel” – Food Safety News

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Salmonella outbreak linked to frozen sprouts

Frozen sprouted mung beans from Chetak LLC Group are responsible for eleven cases of Salmonella Anatum infections in ten states, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Four of the eleven victims have been hospitalized.

Outbreak cases have been identified in Connecticut (1), Florida (1), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (2), Minnesota (1), New Jersey (1), Pennsylvania (1), Tennessee (1), Virginia (1), and Washington (1).

Victims range in age from less than 1 to 78 years. All eleven victims are Asian.

Four of six cases with information available reported eating or likely eating frozen sprouted mat (moth) beans and frozen sprouted moong beans before becoming ill.

CHETAK LLC GROUP has recalled the following products, which were distributed across the United States:

Deep Sprouted Mat (Moth) (16 oz; Lot codes 24330, 25072, 25108, 24353, 25171, 24297, 25058, 25078, 24291, 25107, 24354, and 24292)
Deep Sprouted Moong (16 oz packet; Lot codes 24330, 25072, 25108, 24353, 25171, 24297, 25058, 25078, 24291, 25107, 24354, and 24292)

The company claims not to have received any direct reports of illnesses.

In May 2025, the FDA conducted routine sampling of Deep brand sprouted beans and found Salmonella in the products. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) established that the strain recovered from the sprouted bean samples was a match to the strain recovered from outbreak patients.

What consumers need to know (from CDC)

Do not eat any recalled Deep brand frozen sprouted beans. Throw them away or return them to where you bought them.
Wash items and surfaces that may have touched the recalled frozen sprouted beans using hot soapy water or a dishwasher.
Call your healthcare provider if you have any of these severe Salmonella symptoms:
- Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
- Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving
- Bloody diarrhea
- So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down
- Signs of dehydration, such as not peeing much, dry mouth and throat, and feeling dizzy when standing up

What eFoodAlert wants to know

It only takes a couple of days to confirm the presence of Salmonella in a food product, and the presence of any Salmonella in a food (whether or not it is associated with an outbreak) is grounds for product recall.

If the FDA sampled these frozen sprouts in May 2025 (that’s almost two months ago) and found Salmonella in the samples, why was the product recall delayed until this week?

Should we blame this inexplicable delay on the staffing cuts within the FDA? Or did the company drag its feet when asked to recall the Salmonella-contaminated products?

In the past, when a company resisted an FDA request to recall a product that presents a health risk, the agency would post a public health alert to warn consumers of the risk.

Of course, the individuals within the FDA who were responsible for preparing and releasing those public health alerts are no longer employed by the US government.

And now the public is reaping what DOGE and RKF, Jr., have sowed.

Interested in learning more about food safety and the history of foodborne disease outbreaks and investigations?

Click on the link to listen to a short excerpt, then follow the buy links to add a digital, print or audio copy to your personal library.

Chapter 6. Birth of a Pathogen

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Four deaths in 13-state Listeria monocytogenes outbreak

June 18, 2025

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) are reporting today on a 13-state outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to consumption of chicken fettuccine alfredo products manufactured under FSIS supervision by FreshRealm.

Four deaths have been recorded, including one fetal death resulting from a pregnancy-associated illness.

A total of 17 outbreak cases have been confirmed so far. Sixteen of the victims were hospitalized.

Illnesses have been reported from 13 states: Florida (1), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Louisiana (2), Michigan (2), Minnesota (1), Missouri (1), Nevada (1), Norh Carolina (1), Ohio (1), Souh Carolina (1), Texas (3), and Virginia (1).

Outbreak victims range in age from 4 to 92 years, with half of the victims aged 79 or over. Of eleven people interviewed, seven reported eating pre-cooked meals and four of those specifically mentioned chicken fettuccine alfredo, purchased from the refrigerated section at Walmart and Kroger.

The outbreak, which has been under investigation by the FSIS and the FDA since April 2025, began in August 2024. The most recently reported illness was detected in May 2025.

FreshRealm has recalled the following products, manufactured in the company’s establishments in San Clemente, Calif., Montezuma, Ga., and Indianapolis, Ind.

MARKETSIDE GRILLED CHICKEN ALFREDO WITH FETTUCCINE Tender Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce, White Meat Chicken and Shaved Parmesan Cheese (32.8-oz. tray packages; Best by 06/27/25 or prior)
MARKETSIDE GRILLED CHICKEN ALFREDO WITH FETTUCCINE Tender Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce, White Meat Chicken, Broccoli and Shaved Parmesan Cheese (12.3 oz. tray packages; Best by 06/26/25 or prior)
HOME CHEF Heat & Eat Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with pasta, grilled white meat chicken, and Parmesan cheese (12.5 oz. tray packages; Best by 06/19/25 or prior)

The recalled products were sold in Kroger and Walmart retail locations nationwide.

In March 2025, the FSIS recovered the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes from a routine sample of chicken fettuccine alfredo collected at one of the FreshRealm establishments. The contaminated batch was held during sampling, destroyed, and never entered commerce, and subsequent investigations were unable to determine the source of the contamination.

Testing of FDA-regulated ingredients for the recalled products has been completed, and the outbreak strain was not found in any of those ingredient samples.

What consumers need to know (per CDC and FSIS)

Do not eat recalled chicken fettuccine alfredo meals from FreshRealm.
Clean your refrigerator, containers, and surfaces that may have touched the chicken fettuccine alfredo meals. Listeria can survive in the refrigerator and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces.
FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their meat products, including fresh and frozen, and to only consume premade meals like chicken fettuccine alfredo that has been cooked to a temperature of 165º F. The only way to confirm that premade meals are cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature, https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart.

Listeria is especially harmful to pregnant women and people who are 65 or older or who have weakened immune systems. This is because Listeria is more likely to spread beyond their gut to other parts of their body, resulting in a severe condition known as invasive listeriosis.

Call a healthcare provider right away if you have these symptoms after eating the chicken fettuccine alfredo:
- Pregnant women: Fever, muscle aches, and tiredness. Your illness may be mild, but Listeria can cause pregnancy loss or premature birth. It can also cause serious illness or death in newborns.
- Other people may have: Headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, in addition to fever, muscle aches, and tiredness.
- For women who are pregnant, Listeria can cause pregnancy loss, premature birth, or a life-threatening infection in newborns.
- For people who are 65 years or older or who have a weakened immune system, Listeria often results in hospitalization and sometimes death.
Symptoms usually start within 2 weeks after eating food contaminated with Listeria but may start as early as the same day or as late as 10 weeks after.
- Pregnant women: Fever, muscle aches, and tiredness. Your illness may be mild, but Listeria can cause pregnancy loss or premature birth. It can also cause serious illness or death in newborns.
- Other people may have: Headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, in addition to fever, muscle aches, and tiredness.