Pasta meals sold at Trader Joe's, Walmart linked to deadly listeria outbreak

A listeria outbreak that federal health officials say has swept through 18 states, killing half a dozen people and causing more than two dozen hospitalizations has been linked to frozen pasta available at stores including Trader Joe's and Walmart.

A national food safety investigation into the outbreak traced the illnesses to recalled frozen meals that sourced pasta from a Northern California company.

As of late October, the outbreak had killed six people, as well as sickened 27, the majority of whom were hospitalized, according to the most recent update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In one case, a pregnant woman miscarried after becoming ill, the agency said.

The prepared pasta meals were sold at grocery chains nationwide; besides Trader Joe's and Walmart,