What We Know About the Fresh & Ready Foods Listeria Outbreak
CDC and FDA linked 10 Listeria monocytogenes illnesses, 10 hospitalizations, and 1 death in Nevada to ready-to-eat foods made by Fresh & Ready Foods LLC at its San Fernando, California facility. Eight people got sick in California and two in Nevada. CDC declared the outbreak over on July 24, 2025.
How FDA Discovered the Source
Sick people’s samples were collected over about nine months, from December 3, 2023 to September 9, 2024. CDC looked into these illnesses in 2024 but didn’t have enough information to name a food. During an inspection from March 31 to April 15, 2025, FDA collected environmental swabs from the production area that tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. Whole genome sequencing matched two of those swabs to the bacteria from sick people, and CDC reopened its investigation in April 2025.
The Recall and Where Products Were Sold
On May 10, 2025, Fresh & Ready Foods LLC voluntarily recalled ready-to-eat sandwiches, pastas, and snack items sold under the Fresh & Ready Foods, Fresh Take Crave Away, and City Point Market Fresh Food to Go brands. They went to vending machines, break rooms, hospitals, hotels, and airports in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Washington. The company said no illnesses were reported from those products. The outbreak illnesses came earlier, in 2023 and 2024.
FDA Warning Letter Followed
On September 5, 2025, FDA sent a warning letter to Compass Group USA about the Fresh & Ready Foods LLC plant in San Fernando. FDA said swabs taken on March 31, 2025, found Listeria monocytogenes on food-contact surfaces, including a conveyor belt and roller used for sandwiches and a slicer. The letter also says FDA found Listeria monocytogenes at the plant in 2017. Warning letters are public records of FDA’s findings and can be relevant evidence in negligence litigation.
Why Every Sick Person Was Hospitalized
CDC reported that all 10 sick people were hospitalized. Of the six people with food information, all six were already in the hospital before they got sick with Listeria, and facility records showed Fresh & Ready Foods products were served in at least three of those facilities. Listeria is most dangerous for adults 65 and older, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women, and many hospital patients fall into those groups.
Your Legal Rights
If you or a loved one developed laboratory-confirmed listeriosis after eating Fresh & Ready Foods products served in a hospital, healthcare facility, or other location that received them, you may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, hospitalization costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages. Families of those who died may pursue wrongful death claims.
Ron Simon & Associates is a food poisoning law firm that has recovered over $850 million for victims nationwide. Our Listeria lawyers focus exclusively on foodborne illness litigation and are reviewing claims from this outbreak. You pay our law firm nothing unless we recover compensation for you. Contact us for a free consultation at 1-888-335-4901.