At least 12 people have died and 38 were rushed to hospital after they drank frozen shakes linked with a listeria outbreak.
The supplement shakes, labeled under the brands Lyons ReadyCare and Sysco Imperial, were sold to institutional customers, including hospitals and long-term care facilities, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.
The FDA said there were 38 cases in 21 states it had information about.
All but four of those cases were in care facilities or had been admitted to hospital when they became sick, the agency added.
“Records reviewed from facilities indicated nutritional shakes were available to residents,” a report from the FDA says.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said listeria cases linked to the products date to 2018 but investigators had been previously unable to identify the source.
Certain Lyons ReadyCare and Sysco Imperial Frozen Supplemental Shakes are being voluntarily recalled.
Any facility that purchased the shakes has been told to stop selling them, and carefully clean and sanitize any surfaces or containers that they had touched.
Symptoms of listeria usually start within two weeks after eating contaminated food but can begin as early as the same day or as late as 10 weeks later, according to the FDA.
Mild symptoms may include a fever, muscle aches, nausea, tiredness, vomiting, and diarrhea. If the more severe form of listeriosis develops, symptoms may include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, the agency says.
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Additional reporting by AP.
