Listeria outbreak tied to nutritional supplement shakes leaves at least 11 dead

An alarming food safety scare has left nursing homes and similar institutions reeling amid a listeria outbreak that has already proven deadly in multiple cases.

According to the Associated Press, cartons of frozen shakes shipped to long-term care facilities in the United States have been linked to no fewer than 11 deaths and prompted a massive nationwide recall.

Listeria outbreak sparks alarm

At issue are nutritional supplement shakes sold under the Lyons ReadyCare and Sysco Imperial brands, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Data released by the agency indicates that upwards of 38 individuals have fallen ill after consuming the products.

Spanning 21 states, the outbreak has caused a total of 37 hospitalizations and 11 fatalities thus far.

The FDA's website notes that symptoms of listeria tend to emerge roughly two weeks after contaminated items are consumed, though they can set in as quickly as the same day or up to a full 10 weeks subsequent to ingestion.

Mild cases of listeria are marked by muscle aches, fever, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, though serious cases, as has recently been seen, can lead to death, particularly within vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, infants, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems.

Boar's Head outbreak kills 10

The recent nutritional shake recall comes relatively close on the heels of a serious listeria outbreak that was tied to Boar's Head brand's popular line of deli meats, as detailed by the Associated Press last year.

In that outbreak, illness reports emerged between May and mid-September 2024, with the company's liverwurst blamed for many of the cases involved.

The Boar's Head product contamination ultimately led to the untimely deaths of 10 people, with 61 others falling ill, some quite seriously.

Roughly 7 million pounds of the company's deli meats were eventually made subject to a nationwide recall, and a Boar's Head production plant in Virginia was shut down by federal authorities, with the processing of liverwurst permanently ceased.

The legal and regulatory fallout from the Boar's Head listeria outbreak continues to emerge, and it seems likely that the same process will unfold in connection with the nutritional shake recall that is just getting underway.