A deadly listeria outbreak has resulted in a recall of frozen supplemental shakes used at long-term care facilities.
The shakes were made by Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and were sold under the brands of Lyons ReadyCare and Sysco Imperial, the Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA inspected the company’s site and samples collected from the processing area closely matched the strain of listeria that is making people sick.
Lyons Management recalled the 4 oz. shakes, which were shipped nationwide, due to the contamination.
So far there have been 38 cases, with 37 of them requiring hospitalization. A dozen people have died. The cases date back to 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control with 20 occuring in 2024 and 2025.
Cases have been found in Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and West Virginia.
Any distributors or food service customers should not sell or serve the shakes and sanitize any surfaces or containers that the shakes touch. Listeria can be spread easily to other foods and surfaces and can survive being in a refrigerator.
Symptoms of listeriosis, or a listeria infection, begin to show within two weeks of eating food that is contaminated with listeria but can start the same day or as late as 10 days.
Mild symptoms include fever, muscle aches, nausea, tiredness, vomiting and diarrhea. Severe symptoms include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.
Pregnant women, newborns, people 64 or older and people with weakened immune systems are at the most risk.
If you have symptoms of listeriosis, call your health care provider, the FDA said.
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