Washington: Six people have lost their lives and 25 others have been hospitalized in a listeria outbreak tied to precooked pasta dishes that were recently recalled, the US Food and Drug Administration announced.

According to Anadolu Agency, the FDA stated that the outbreak, initially announced in June, has led to a series of recalls involving ready-to-eat pasta products containing pasta supplied by Nate's Fine Foods, as reported by NBC News. Listeria are bacteria that have the potential to contaminate various foods.

The FDA is working in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate the multistate listeria outbreak. "Since the last CDC case count update on September 25, 2025, a total of 7 new illnesses from 3 states have been reported, with 2 additional deaths reported," the FDA noted, mentioning that "one pregnancy-associated illness resulted in a fetal loss."

Of the 27 reported cases, 25 patients had been hospitalized as of Thursday. The outbreak has affected individuals across 18 states, including California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.

The recalled products encompass a variety of precooked pasta meals sold at major retailers, including Kroger, Walmart, Albertsons-owned stores, Trader Joe's, Giant Eagle, and Sprouts. These items feature dishes such as chicken Alfredo, meatball pasta, shrimp scampi bowls, and deli pasta salads.

The FDA has urged the public to check their refrigerators and freezers for recalled items, emphasizing that listeria can cause severe illness, especially among older adults, those with weakened immune systems, pregnant women, and newborns. The infection can result in fever, muscle aches, neurological symptoms, and, in pregnancy, serious complications including miscarriage or stillbirth.

Listeria is identified as the third-leading cause of foodborne illness deaths in the US, with about 1,250 cases and 172 deaths annually, according to the CDC.