• Posted October 8, 2025

Don’t Eat These Hello Fresh Meals, Officials Warn

Federal health officials are warning consumers not to eat two types of Hello Fresh ready-made meals that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause serious illness.

The warning came Monday after officials traced the affected Hello Fresh meals back to FreshRealm, a California-based company also linked to an ongoing national Listeria investigation involving ready-to-eat pasta.

The warning covers:

• Hello Fresh Ready Made Meals Cheesy Pulled Pork Pepper Pasta (10.1-ounce containers); Est. 47718 (lot 49107) or Est. 2937 (lot 48840)

• Hello Fresh Ready Made Meals Unstuffed Peppers with Ground Turkey (10-ounce containers); Est. P-47718 (lots 50069, 50073 or 50698)

Both products were shipped directly to customers nationwide by HelloFresh.

Officials said the issue was discovered when FreshRealm reported that quick-frozen spinach used in the meals tested positive for Listeria. 

The spinach came from Sno Pac Foods of Caledonia, Minnesota, through its supplier, Del Mar Foods of Watsonville, California.

The contaminated spinach did not match the strain connected to an ongoing national outbreak and no illnesses have been reported, according to FreshRealm.

Consumers who may have purchased these products are urged not to eat them and to throw them out or return them to their place of purchase.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s alert follows a broader investigation into Listeria outbreaks linked to FreshRealm products. The company said tests confirmed the pasta used in some Walmart linguine dishes contained the same strain of Listeria responsible for an earlier outbreak tied to chicken fettuccine Alfredo. 

That outbreak has killed at least four people and sickened 20 others, with the most recent case reported Sept. 11, The Associated Press reported.

Other retailers such as Kroger, Giant Eagle and Albertsons have also recalled prepared foods made with ingredients supplied by Nate’s Fine Foods of Roseville, California, where the outbreak strain was found.

Listeria can cause severe illness, especially in pregnant women, newborns, older adults and folks with weakened immune systems. Common symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and seizures.

Each year, about 1,250 people nationwide get sick from Listeria infections and around 172 die, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on Listeria.

SOURCES: The Associated Press, Oct. 7, 2025; U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), Oct. 6, 2025