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 refrigerated ready-to-eat sandwiches, pastas, and snack trays produced by Fresh & Ready Foods LLC at its San Fernando, California facility. Eight people were hospitalized in California and two in Nevada, with the single death reported from Nevada. CDC declared the outbreak over on July 24, 2025.
How FDA Discovered the Source
The outbreak was unusual in two ways. First, sick people’s samples were collected over a 21-month window from December 3, 2023 to September 9, 2024, months before the source was identified. Second, the link came not from a sick person’s interview but from FDA environmental monitoring. During a routine site inspection between March 31 and April 15, 2025, FDA collected a sample from a piece of processing equipment at Fresh & Ready Foods’ San Fernando facility that tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. Whole genome sequencing matched that strain to the outbreak strain in the patient samples.
The Recall and Where Products Were Sold
On May 10, 2025, Fresh & Ready Foods LLC voluntarily recalled refrigerated sandwiches, pastas, and snack trays distributed between April 18 and 28, 2025. Products were sold under three brand names: Fresh & Ready Foods, Fresh Take Crave Away, and City Point Market Fresh Food to Go. Distribution covered vending machines and break room areas inside corporate offices, medical buildings, and healthcare facilities in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Washington. Confirmed illnesses only occurred in California and Nevada.
FDA Warning Letter Followed
In September 2025, FDA issued a warning letter to Fresh & Ready Foods detailing the food safety violations found during the inspection, including the Listeria-positive equipment sample and other sanitation failures. Warning letters are public records that document the FDA’s findings and the company’s response, and they can be relevant evidence in negligence litigation.
Why the Hospitalization Rate Was 100 Percent
Every one of the 10 confirmed cases required hospitalization. That extraordinarily high rate reflects how dangerous Listeria is for the elderly, immunocompromised, and pregnant women, which is exactly the population that eats from break room vending machines in hospitals and medical buildings.
Your Legal Rights
If you or a loved one developed laboratory-confirmed listeriosis after eating Fresh & Ready Foods products from a vending machine or break room, 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.