Nearly 700 frozen waffle products from dozens of brands have been recalled nationwide due to listeria

Listeria has been making headlines for months, leading to recalls of millions of pounds of deli meats and ready-to-eat meat products. Now the potentially deadly organism is showing up in frozen waffles.

TreeHouse Foods, which produces waffles sold under the Kodiak, Good & Gather and many other popular brands, is voluntarily recalling nearly 700 different waffle products from dozens of brands due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. According to a statement from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the waffles were sold nationwide at Publix, Aldo, Food Lion, Walmart and Target, as well as other retailers.

People with recalled waffles should throw them away or return them for credit to the store where they were purchased, the announcement said. And consumers with additional questions may contact TreeHouse Foods at 800-596-2903, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CST. (The full list of recalled products can be found here.)

No illnesses have been reported in connection with the recalled waffles. According to the FDA, the problem was discovered during routine testing at the manufacturing facility.

Listeria monocytogenes is not a new organism, but it has been appearing frequently recently. This summer, more than 7.2 million pounds of Boar's Head deli meat was recalled because a listeria outbreak killed at least nine people. Recently, BrucePac recalled nearly 10 million pounds of meat due to possible listeria contamination.

Here's what food safety experts want to know about listeria and frozen waffles.

Which brands are affected?

According to the FDA, these brands, among others, are affected by the recall:

• Always save
• Best choice
• Bettergoods
• Breakfast best
• Compliments
• Clover Valley
• Essentials
• Feed lion
• Nutritional supplements
• Giant eagle
• Good & collect
• Great value for money
• Hannaford
• Harris Teeter
• HEB Higher harvest
• Kodiak cake
• No name
• Pictures from Price Chopper
• Publix
• Schnucks
• Se grocer
• Selection
• Simple truth
• Tops
• Western family

Where were the waffles sold?

The waffles were sold at the following retailers, among others:

• Dollar General
• Publix
• Stop & Shop
• Kroger
• Goal
• Walmart
• Aldi
• HEB

What is listeria?

Listeria is a bacteria that can contaminate food. Listeria monocytogenes is a species of listeria that can cause listeriosis, a potentially serious and fatal infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the CDC, about 1,600 people become infected with listeria each year, and 260 of them die from listeriosis.

Listeriosis can cause either intestinal disease (diarrhea and vomiting) or invasive disease. According to the CDC, these are the main symptoms of invasive Listeria disease:

• Fever
• Flu-like symptoms such as muscle aches and fatigue
• Headache
• Stiff neck
• confusion
• Loss of balance
• Seizures

In pregnant people, listeriosis can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, or a life-threatening infection of the newborn.

How are people exposed to listeria?

People are usually exposed to listeria through foods contaminated with the bacteria. A variety of foods can be contaminated, but according to the FDA, Listeria outbreaks are most common in these foods:

• Raw, unpasteurized milk and cheese
• Ice cream
• Raw or processed vegetables
• Raw or processed fruits
• Raw or undercooked poultry
• Sausages
• Hot dogs
• delicatessen
• Raw or smoked fish and other seafood

“The presence of Listeria monocytogenes in frozen waffles is a concern because waffles generally are not at high risk for Listeria contamination,” says Janet Buffer, MPH, senior institute director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutritional Security at George Washington University.

Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, Ph.D., professor and director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, agrees, noting that “no case of Listeria associated with frozen waffles has been recorded.”

How does listeria get into frozen waffles?

It's not entirely clear. “There is no information on how these products became contaminated, but based on previous outbreaks of various product types, the foods may have come into contact with contaminated surfaces in the production facility,” says Diez-Gonzalez.

According to Buffer, this may have been a case of “post-product contamination,” meaning the waffles may have been contaminated after they were manufactured. “Listeria monocytogenes is an environmental organism and can be introduced into a manufacturing facility through ingredients, employee shoes and equipment that has been transported from one location to another,” she says.

Listeria thrives in all sorts of environments, “but the organism establishes itself well in moist and wet environments,” Buffer says.

Why is listeria dangerous?

Listeriosis can cause a number of diseases in humans. But it can be serious or even fatal in vulnerable populations, including young children, pregnant women, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

“The safest course of action consumers should take with a recalled product is to discard the product,” Buffer says. “The risk of getting sick isn’t worth it.”