A range of milkshakes have been recalled after they were linked to 11 deaths and dozens of serious illnesses, many of them in long-term care homes and hospitals, the FDA confirmed on Friday.
Food service company Lyons Magnus said in a statement Saturday it was voluntarily recalling all 4 oz. packs of Lyons ReadyCare and Sysco Imperial Frozen Supplemental Shakes, in response to a recall from manufacturer Prairie Farms, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
As of Friday, 38 people have been infected across 21 states. Of these, 27 were hospitalized and 11 died — although the FDA did not say when these deaths took place and said the outbreak can be traced back seven years.
Some 34 victims were either residents in long-term care facilities or had already been hospitalized. Records from the facilities involved showed that the shakes were available to residents and patients, the FDA said.
The FDA said it was first notified of an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes linked to the product on Nov. 25 last year “with many ill people residing in long-term care facilities (LTCF) prior to illness onset.”
“As soon as Lyons Magnus learned of the issue, it took immediate action to halt the purchase of all products from the affected Prairie Farms facility, notify customers, and ensure that impacted products were removed from distribution nationally,” the company said in its statement.
The FDA said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that this outbreak can be traced back to 2018, although it was not clear exactly how, when or where the infections were reported.
Symptoms of Listeriosis, a listeria infection, typically start two weeks after eating contaminated food but can start up to 10 weeks later. These may include fever, muscle aches and nausea and in serious cases confusion, stiff neck and convulsions. Pregnant women, people over the age of 65 and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk.
An infant died and 10 adults were sickened amid a four-state listeria outbreak connected to ready-to-eat meat products last year.
