A chicken salad product is being recalled after it was found to potentially contain dangerous and sometimes deadly bacteria, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced.

On Saturday, Salinas, Calif.-based Fresh Express Incorporated announced a voluntary recall of its 5.75-ounce Gourmet Café Chicken Caesar Salad Bowls after learning that the chicken used in the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenesa bacteria that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections,

The affected salad bowls were distributed in four states: California, Louisiana, Texas and Washington.

The potential problem was traced to chicken supplied by BrucePac, which had issued its own recall due to possible listeria contamination.

Fresh Express said in the recall notice that it had stopped sourcing chicken from the implicated BrucePac facility, pending further inspections and approvals from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Consumers are encouraged to stay informed of current food recalls to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

Fresh Express said only the chicken component is affected and other ingredients, such as fresh vegetables, are not affected.

Affected Gourmet Café Chicken Caesar Salad Bowls 5.75 oz can be identified from the following product identifications: best before dates of October 26, October 27, October 30 and November 2, 2024, package codes S281, S282, S285, S288 and a universal product code (UPC or barcode number) 071279565620.

News week contacted Fresh Express via an online form outside of office hours for comment.

Consumers are urged not to consume any of the recalled products and should instead throw them away or return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Customers can also contact Fresh Express at (800) 242-5472 for more information during business hours.

Listeria monocytogenes is a strain of bacteria that can cause listeriosis infection, which can lead to serious health problems, especially in vulnerable populations.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people at high risk, including pregnant women, newborns, adults aged 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems, are particularly susceptible to complications.

In high-risk groups, infection can cause serious symptoms such as fever, headache and abdominal pain, and in pregnant women it can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth.

According to the CDC, healthy people may experience mild flu-like symptoms, including nausea and diarrhea. In the United States, approximately 1,600 people contract listeriosis each year, with approximately 260 cases fatal.

Listeria infections are the third leading cause of death from foodborne illnesses in the country.

News week recently reported that the BrucePac recall affects a number of major grocery chains, including Walmart, Kroger, Target, Amazon Fresh, Aldi and Trader Joe’s.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service has published a complete list of affected products: a 345-page searchable documentwith photos of product labels and additional information allowing customers to verify whether a product is safe.