- More than two dozen waffle brands have been recalled due to possible listeria contamination.
- The waffles were sold at stores like Walmart and Target.
- The FDA is urging people to throw these out or return them.
If you have frozen waffles at home, it’s time to check your freezer. More than two dozen waffle brands sold at big-name stores like Walmart and Target have been recalled over listeria concerns.
Treehouse Foods, which makes the waffles, is voluntarily recalling some of its products—including select Kodiak Cake, Harris Teeter, and Good & Gather waffles—due to the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
Meet the experts: Janet Buffer, M.P.H., senior institute manager for the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University; Darin Detwiler, L.P.D., is an associate teaching professor of food policy at Northeastern University and author of Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions.
There have been no confirmed reports of illness tied to the recall, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Here’s which frozen waffles are impacted, plus why this is so potentially dangerous.
Which waffles are impacted in the recall?
According to the FDA, these are the waffle brands impacted by the recall:
- Always Save
- Best Choice
- Bettergoods
- Breakfast Best
- Compliments
- Clover Valley
- Essentials
- Food Lion
- Foodhold
- Giant Eagle
- Good & Gather
- Great Value
- Hannaford
- Harris Teeter
- H-E-B Higher Harvest
- Kodiak Cakes
- No Name
- Pics By Price Chopper
- Publix
- Schnucks
- Se Grocers
- Selection
- Simple Truth
- Tops
- Western Family
(The FDA’s full list of recalled products is here.)
How does listeria survive in the freezer?
Listeria monocytogenes can survive in cold environments, including freezers, “making frozen food products like waffles a possible source of infection if contaminated,” says ; Darin Detwiler, L.P.D., an associate teaching professor of food policy at Northeastern University and author of Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions.
“Even though frozen waffles are pre-cooked, contamination can occur after the cooking process, particularly if there are lapses in sanitation or if the facility is not properly controlled,” he says. “Since Listeria can grow even at low temperatures, it can persist on frozen products without being detected until they are thawed or consumed.”
What to do if you have these waffles at home
If you have one of the recalled waffles at home, the FDA recommends throwing them out or returning them to the store where you purchased them for a credit.
Just don’t try to eat these. “It is not worth the risk of becoming ill,” Buffer says.
Will cooking waffles kill listeria?
In theory, yes. “If the heating element of the toaster can get the waffle to at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit, then yes,” Buffer says.
But this is a big risk to take. “The only way a person will know if their waffle was heated through thoroughly is to take the temperature with a calibrated thermometer,” Buffer says. Even then, there is a risk that the bacteria could end up on your countertops, hands, and other areas that come into contact with it.
More to know about listeria
What is listeria?
Listeria are bacteria that can contaminate food and potentially cause serious illness. Listeria monocytogenes, which is the form of listeria in this recall, can cause a condition known as listeriosis, which can be deadly, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Listeriosis is rare, but it happens. About 1,600 people develop the infection each year in the U.S., and 260 die from it, according to CDC data.
Listeria has been in the news a lot lately. More than 7.2 million pounds of Boar’s Head deli meats were recalled this summer due to a listeria outbreak that killed at least nine people, and BrucePac recalled nearly 10 million pounds of meat earlier this month due to a possible listeria contamination.
Listeriosis symptoms
Listeriosis can cause two different illnesses. One is an intestinal illness, and the other is an invasive illness (meaning, it spreads throughout the body).
These are the main symptoms of an intestinal listeria infection, according to the CDC:
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
These usually start within 24 hours of eating contaminated food and can last for one to three days, per the CDC.
Invasive illness can cause the following symptoms, according to the CDC:
- Fever
- Flu-like symptoms
- Headache
- Stiff neck
- Confusion
- Loss of balance
- Seizures
In pregnant people, listeriosis can cause stillbirth, miscarriage, premature delivery, or a life-threatening infection of the newborn.
“Young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and immune compromised are the most susceptible populations to infections caused by Listeria monocytogenes,” says Janet Buffer, M.P.H., senior institute manager for the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University.