The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an urgent frozen shakes recall after a multi-year listeria outbreak killed 11 individuals in nursing homes and hospitals. Lyons ReadyCare and Sysco Imperial nutritional products – distributed exclusively to healthcare institutions – contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes have been linked to 38 confirmed infections since 2018.
Federal investigators revealed the outbreak evaded detection for nearly five years before genomic testing connected patient cases to the tainted supplements.
This recall underscores systemic vulnerabilities in institutional food safety oversight,stated an FDA spokesperson during Friday's emergency briefing.
The affected products include:
- Vanilla and chocolate nutritional shakes in 8-oz cartons
- Lot codes distributed between June 2018-October 2023
- Shipments to 14 states including Ohio, Texas, and Florida
Listeriosis presents particular dangers for elderly patients, with mortality rates exceeding 20% in vulnerable populations. Health officials urge all institutional kitchens to:
1. Immediately quarantine affected products
2. Sanitize storage/preparation areas
3. Report suspected cases to state health departments
The CDC epidemiological team continues tracing outbreak strains through PulseNet while facing criticism for delayed pathogen identification. Legal experts predict wrongful death lawsuits could exceed $50 million as families question why contaminated products remained in circulation for five years.
