Frozen waffle products recalled for listeria risk

About 700 frozen waffle products, some sold under the brands of major retailers such as Kroger, Target and Walmart, were recalled Friday over concerns of possible contamination by Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, according to their manufacturer.

The manufacturer, Treehouse Foods, issued a voluntary recall and said in a statement that “the problem was discovered through routine testing at the manufacturing facility.”

There have been no confirmed reports of illness associated with the recalled products, Tree House said.

Treehouse, which operates more than two dozen manufacturing facilities in the United States and Canada, said the products affected by the recall are distributed in both countries and in different formats.

Frozen waffle brands affected by the recall include Kroger's Simple Truth Protein Waffles, Target's Good & Gather Homestyle and Buttermilk flavors, and Walmart's Great Value Homestyle and Blueberry Waffles.

Infection from listeria, which is bacteria that can contaminate food, is rare but can cause potentially serious illness.

Common symptoms include fever and headache. Young children, older adults, and pregnant women are most at risk for more serious and potentially life-threatening side effects.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year in the United States, approximately 1,600 people contract listeria and about 260 die from the infection.

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Infectious Disease Professor Dr. Stuart C. Ray, “We see it most severely in people who have immune systems that are compromised in some way, and that can be the very young, the very old,” of Baltimore Medicine, said Saturday.

Symptoms “can be as simple as gastroenteritis, but it can be as severe as meningitis,” he added.

If someone is infected with Listeria bacteria, the incubation period can last several days and sometimes several weeks. An infection may not be immediately visible.

Several companies in the deli industry this year have issued recalls related to listeria outbreaks.

Deli meat brand Boar's Head has faced scrutiny in recent months after one of its facilities in Virginia was found to have black mold, dead flies and water dripping over the meat. Nine deaths were linked to food distributed from that facility and containing listeria.

And Brewpack, another meat supplier, recalled more than 10 million pounds of meat and poultry products this month because of listeria.

Food plants and facilities are common hotbeds of Listeria outbreaks because of the bacteria's ability to survive in cold weather, Dr. Ray said.

“It lives on damp surfaces, including factories and food processing facilities,” he said. “It can be shared by animals, including livestock, which do not appear to be sick. It can enter our food chain in ways that may not be obvious.”

Treehouse said customers can check the lot codes on their waffle products to see if they are part of the recall. Consumers should dispose of any product in their freezer, or return it to the place of purchase for credit.