Listeria contamination: Ready-to-eat sausages recalled in the US

Due to a possible listeria contamination , approximately 100 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) smoked andouille sausage products have been recalled, the Food Safety and Inspection Service, US Department of Agriculture has said.


"Bourgeois Smokehouse, a Thibodaux, La., establishment, is recalling approximately 100 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) smoked andouille sausage products that may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes ," it said. "The RTE smoked andouille sausage item was produced on May 12, 2025. All products were weighed, wrapped, and labeled in-store at the time of purchase," it added.


This item was shipped to Rouses Market retail locations in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and has been available for purchase since May 13, 2025.


Listeria monocytogenes is a kind of bacteria that can show up in some of your favorite ready-to-eat foods like deli meats, unpasteurized cheeses, pre-packed salads, and even smoked fish. Sounds harmless at first glance, right? The scary part is that Listeria doesn’t need much to cause trouble. It’s hardy, stealthy, and has a thing for the kinds of foods we often eat without cooking.


What makes Listeria so unique—and dangerous—is that it can grow even in cold temperatures. Unlike many bacteria that slow down or die in the cold, Listeria just chills (literally) and keeps multiplying. So that sandwich meat sitting in the fridge for a week? If it’s contaminated, it could be a ticking time bomb, especially for people with weak immune systems.


Now here’s where things get serious. When Listeria does enter the body—usually through contaminated food—it can lead to a disease called listeriosis. For most healthy people, it might just feel like a mild stomach bug or go completely unnoticed. But for vulnerable groups like pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems (like cancer patients or those with HIV), it can be downright deadly.


For pregnant women in particular, Listeria is a nightmare. It might not make the mother feel too sick, but it can cause devastating outcomes like miscarriage, stillbirth, premature labor, or severe infections in the newborn. That’s why doctors often tell pregnant women to avoid soft cheeses made from unpasteurized milk, raw sprouts, and deli meats unless they’re steaming hot. It’s not overprotectiveness—it’s basic survival.


Unlike some bacteria that stick around in the gut, Listeria can actually invade your bloodstream and central nervous system. That’s when it causes things like sepsis (a life-threatening infection of the blood), meningitis (swelling around the brain and spinal cord), and brain abscesses. In these cases, it’s not just food poisoning anymore, it’s a full-blown medical emergency.


Symptoms of listeriosis can take days or even weeks to show up after eating contaminated food. So by the time you feel ill, it’s often hard to figure out what caused it or trace it back to a specific food item. That delay can make diagnosis and treatment tricky.


The USDA has also recalled 9,722 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken coxinhas products by Snack Mania Brazilian Delights Corp., an Elizabeth, N.J. restaurant. It said they were produced without the benefit of federal inspection. The frozen ready-to-eat chicken coxinhas products were produced on various dates from June 27, 2024, through May 02, 2025. This item was shipped to retail locations in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.