A Long Island manufacturer has pulled every ready-to-eat salad and every cream cheese product it makes from New York City delis after federal and company testing found Listeria monocytogenes inside its plant. Made Fresh Salads Inc. of Bay Shore announced the action in a recall notice posted by the FDA on September 6, covering products distributed in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and elsewhere in New York City. No illnesses had been reported when the notice went up.
The practical problem for shoppers is that most of this food never reached them in its original container. The recalled items shipped in 30-pound and 5-pound white plastic tubs and half-size aluminum pans to retail stores and distributors, and stores then scooped the contents into their own deli containers. The FDA notice says packaging and coding will vary depending on where a customer bought the product, which means a container in a refrigerator right now may carry a store label and no recall information at all.
That matters most for pregnant women, newborns, adults over 65, and anyone whose immune system is suppressed by illness or medication. For everyone else, the risk is real but far smaller.
Sixty-Eight Items, Two Brands and One Bay Shore Plant
The FDA notice lists 68 recalled products under two brand names, Made Fresh Salads and Northside. Forty-three are deli-style salads and prepared items. They include potato salad, macaroni salad and coleslaw in 30-pound tubs, plus 5-pound tubs of egg salad, crab salad, shrimp salad, seafood delight, lemon seafood deluxe, tuna with scallion, bruschetta, eggplant caponata, quinoa and farro salads, and roughly a dozen pasta and tortellini salads. Chocolate and vanilla pudding, potato croquettes and crab cakes in aluminum trays are also covered.
The remaining 25 items are cream cheese and spread flavors, from scallion, lox and garlic and herb to strawberry, walnut, jalapeno cheddar and two tofu spreads. Seven of those carry the Northside label rather than Made Fresh Salads.
The recalled tubs carry expiration dates from September 3, 2026 through September 18, 2026, printed at the bottom left of the label. That window means some of this product was still within date on the day the recall was published, and some had only just expired, so refrigerators are the place to check rather than store shelves alone.
A Facility Swab, Not a Sick Customer, Set This Off
Nothing about this recall began with a patient. According to the FDA notice, environmental sampling by the agency and the company found that some areas of the facility tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. The company has stopped production and distribution while the FDA and the firm continue investigating what caused the contamination.
Recalls triggered by environmental monitoring rather than by illness reports are the outcome food safety rules are designed to produce, because they interrupt a hazard before people get sick. They are also the reason a recall can look alarming while the confirmed illness count stays at zero.
The bulk-tub distribution model is what makes this particular recall difficult to close out cleanly. A single 30-pound tub of potato salad can be split across dozens of individual deli containers at several counters over several days, and none of those containers carry the manufacturer's expiration code. New York City has one of the densest concentrations of independent delis, bodegas and appetizing counters in the country, and many of them buy prepared salads and cream cheese in exactly this format. That distribution pattern is efficient for stores and hard for regulators to trace to the final customer.
Two facts remain unresolved. Investigators have not identified the source of the contamination inside the plant, and no finished-product test result has been made public. Because Listeria testing and traceback take time, the scope could still change.
Pregnancy, Newborns and Older Adults Carry the Heaviest Risk
Listeria behaves unlike most foodborne bacteria. It grows at refrigerator temperatures, so chilling contaminated food does not stop it, and symptoms can appear days or even weeks after exposure rather than within hours.
The CDC estimates that about 1,250 people in the United States are infected with Listeria each year and that 172 die, making it the fourth leading cause of death from foodborne illness. The risk is not spread evenly. About 1 in 25,000 pregnant women are infected annually, and 1 in 4 pregnant women who get sick lose the pregnancy or the baby shortly after birth.
More than half of all Listeria infections occur in adults 65 and older, a group that is almost always hospitalized and in which about 1 in 6 infections is fatal. People with weakened immune systems account for roughly three-quarters of cases, and the CDC lists them among the groups at highest risk. Healthy adults who are infected usually recover after a shorter illness with fever, headache, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
Refunds, Symptoms and the Open Questions for Shoppers
Anyone holding these products should return them to the place of purchase for a full refund rather than tasting or smelling them first, because Listeria does not change how food looks or smells. Made Fresh Salads has set up a consumer line at (718) 765-0082, staffed weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern.
If a container has already been opened and repacked at home, cleaning the refrigerator shelf and any utensils that touched it is a reasonable precaution. People who ate a recalled product and have no symptoms generally do not need testing.
Pregnant women who develop fever and flu-like symptoms after eating any of these items should contact their obstetric provider, since treatment during pregnancy is time-sensitive. Older adults and immunocompromised people should seek medical guidance for fever, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance or convulsions, which can signal invasive infection. Anyone with a rapidly worsening illness should be evaluated urgently.
The FDA is expected to post an enforcement classification for this recall in a coming weekly report, and any expansion would appear on the agency's recalls and safety alerts page. New York City residents can also monitor advisories from the NYC Health Department. MedicalDaily will follow the investigation and report any confirmed illnesses or added products.
Key Questions Answered
What exactly was recalled? All ready-to-eat deli-style salads and all cream cheese products made by Made Fresh Salads Inc. of Bay Shore, New York, sold under the Made Fresh Salads and Northside brands. The FDA notice lists 68 items with expiration dates from September 3 through September 18, 2026.
Where were the products sold? They were delivered directly to retail stores and distributors in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and elsewhere in New York City. Stores frequently repacked them into their own deli containers, so the original label may not be present.
Has anyone gotten sick? No illnesses had been reported at the time the FDA published the announcement. That could change, because Listeria symptoms can take weeks to appear.
Who faces the greatest risk? Pregnant women, newborns, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems from conditions or treatments such as chemotherapy. Healthy adults are far less likely to become seriously ill.
What symptoms should people watch for? Fever, headache, muscle aches, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Invasive infection can bring stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or convulsions. In pregnancy, fever and flu-like symptoms are often the only warning.
What should someone do with a recalled product? Return it to the store for a full refund. Do not taste it. Contaminated food looks and smells normal.
What happens next in the investigation? The FDA and the company are still working to identify what caused the contamination at the Bay Shore plant. Production and distribution are halted, and the recall could expand if further testing finds additional affected products.
