December 30, 2019
By: Hunter Moyler
Click to read the original artcle at Newsweek.com

An outbreak of listeria in several states because of infected hard-boiled eggs prompted Veggie Noodle Co. to issue a voluntary recall of its Cece's brand Fresh Veggie Ramen with Chicken Broth on Saturday, according to a press release last updated Sunday.

According to the release, the product has been recalled across the country, regardless of the expiration date, because its separately packaged egg may be contaminated with a potentially fatal organism, Listeria monocytogenes.

No other product is affected by the recall, according to the company.

The reason for the recall can be traced to Almark Foods, a company in Georgia from which Veggie Noodle Co. gets the hard-boiled eggs for its products. Almark Foods issued its own recall earlier this month after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration notified the company that the hard-boiled eggs produced at its facility in Gainesville were likely contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that can be harmful and even deadly if it enters the human body. All retail, pillow pack, pouch pack, frozen diced and protein kit products from the Gainesville facility are affected by the Almark recall.

As of last Friday, seven people in five states—Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Maine—have been infected with the bacterium in the current outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Associated Press reported on Saturday that at least one person died as a result of the infection.

Listeria monocytogenes causes listeriosis, a disease that mostly affects pregnant mothers, young children and people with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC. People typically begin to experience symptoms between one week and one month after being infected.

Infected people who are not pregnant mothers may have such symptoms as headache, dizziness, convulsions and aching muscles. While pregnant women may not suffer any symptoms of listeriosis other than fever and other flu symptoms, the disease can cause stillbirth and premature delivery and threaten the life of the baby.

Medical professionals use antibiotics to treat listeriosis.

The CDC advises consumers to not eat any of the recalled hard-boiled egg products if they have already purchased them. Instead, they should return the products to the store or throw them in the trash. If people order hard-boiled eggs or meals with hard-boiled eggs at a restaurant, they should ask workers at the restaurant to confirm whether or not the establishment uses eggs from the Gainesville facility.

The CDC said it was still monitoring the outbreak and will update the public as it obtains more information.