Frozen Waffles Have Been Recalled Nationwide Due To Major Listeria Risk

On October 18, 2024, TreeHouse Foods recalled multiple batches of its frozen waffles across dozens of brands, including Target's in-store Good & Gather label, Walmart's Best Value brand, and Aldi's Breakfast Best label, for potential contamination with listeria. The recalled waffles are identifiable by UPC code, lot code, and best by dates, all of which can be found on the company's official announcement page. The risk was discovered during routine testing at one TreeHouse manufacturing facility. As of this writing, there are no confirmed reports of listeria infection tied to the waffles.

While TreeHouse Foods may not ring a bell immediately, it manufactures many store-brand products and even makes waffles for brands like Kodiak Cakes and Simple Truth. TreeHouse's frozen waffles are available in many major grocery store chains, and a complete visual list of all affected brands and what their packages look like has also been released.

According to the CDC, Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen that is particularly dangerous for pregnant people, babies, and the elderly. It can cause flu-like symptoms and intestinal issues in those who consume it via food or drink, with more severe symptoms for sensitive groups. This incident comes fresh on the heels of BrucePac's recall of nearly 10 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat in early October 2024, and July's listeria outbreak tied to deli meat, which resulted in at least 2 deaths.

If you currently own a box of waffles affected by this TreeHouse recall, you should dispose of it or return it to where you bought it from immediately. Taking a risk and eating them is simply not worth a listeria infection, also called listerosis — one kind of food poisoning you should know.

The danger of listeria regarding pregnancy is significant, with potential for miscarriage or stillbirth if a pregnant person becomes infected. Babies born with a listeria infection can face serious health complications, and young children, adults over 65 years old, and the immunocompromised are also at risk. Severe symptoms can include fever, headache, digestive issues, loss of balance, convulsions, and even death. Most people outside of at-risk groups do not develop serious symptoms from listeria, but among those hospitalized for infection, the mortality rate is estimated to be between 15% to 20%.

Listeria can survive even at freezing temperatures, which is why it presents a risk in frozen waffles and related products like frozen fruits and vegetables. In the freezer, the germs cease reproducing, but they do not die. In fact, this bacteria is one of the few that is able to multiply in the fridge, as usually these temps are cool enough to halt bacterial growth.