Listeria Outbreak Affects Frozen Supplement Shakes

A multistate outbreak of listeria monocytogenes has impacted frozen supplement shakes made by Prairie Farms. As of February 21, 2025, 38 people have been infected by the outbreak across 21 states. On February 22, 2025, Lyons Magnus LLC recalled affected Prairie Farms supplement shakes and people were advised not to sell, eat or serve them. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), along with officials have been gathering data to figure out the causes of this outbreak. If you were harmed by supplemental shakes contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, you should call the knowledgeable Chicago-based food safety lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in cases with which we’ve been involved.

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As of February 21, 2025, 38 people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported from 21 states. Sick people’s samples were collected on dates ranging from August 17, 2018, to January 23, 2025. Of 38 people with information available, 37 have been hospitalized. Twelve deaths have been reported from California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. Most people in this outbreak reported living in long-term care facilities or were hospitalized prior to becoming sick.

Not everyone reports when they’ve been affected by Listeria (and not everyone gets tested for it). Accordingly, it’s possible there are more sick people than were originally counted.

The outbreak was investigated over multiple years from 2018-2023. The evidence indicated that the people who got sick were residents in long term care facilities and nursing homes, and that most likely they got sick from what was served in those places. However, no particular food was identified as the source of the outbreak.

In October 2024, the investigation was reopened by the CDC because reports of six new cases came in. This time, the outbreak strain was discovered in Prairie Farms’ environmental samples. Interviews were conducted about patients’ food prior to falling sick, and 34 out of 38 reported that they lived in longterm care facilities where they had soft diets, including supplemental shakes.

The CDC PulseNet system, a nationwide database of DNA fingerprints of bacteria that cause illnesses from food, was used to determine the illnesses that were part of the outbreak.

The DNA fingerprints revealed that the bacteria from the various sick individual’s samples were genetically related —or that people were made sick from the same food. The common food consumed in these facilities were the Prairie Farms’ supplement shakes. Environmental samples revealed that the Listeria was closely related to the bacteria that made the individuals sick.

If you suffered listeria because of a frozen supplement shake, you may be able to pursue damages in a product liability lawsuit. Products can be defective in terms of their marketing, manufacturing, or design. In this case, because the shakes were likely unintentionally contaminated with bacteria, it’s likely there was a manufacturing defect.

Our law firm represents those who have suffered harm due to defective products, all across the country. Please contact our experienced Chicago-based product liability attorneys about your legal options. Complete our online form or by calling us at 312.462.1700.