Expanded pasta recall impacts Walmart’s Bettergoods brand as Listeria contamination fears spread

Last month, a recall was initiated for select lots of a pasta product sold at Walmart stores nationwide.

The recall stemmed from concerns that the product could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that can cause serious infection and even death.

Now, the Walmart pasta recall has expanded. Here’s what you need to know.

What’s happened?

On October 1, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a recall notice about a pasta product.

The product was made by Gias Foods of New York City and sold under Walmart’s Bettergoods brand. However, this is not the first recall notice associated with this product.

Two weeks earlier, on September 15, the original recall of the Gias Foods-produced, Bettergoods-branded pasta was announced.

This original announcement said the recall was limited to only specific lots of the pasta product. However, the new notice posted by the FDA yesterday says that all lots of the Bettergoods pasta product are being recalled.

What is Bettergoods?

Bettergoods is Walmart’s relatively new premium grocery label. As Fast Company reported at the time, Walmart launched the Bettergoods label in 2024 to create a premium private-label brand distinct from its low-cost Great Value brand.

The brand aimed to create a new visual identity for unique products made with higher-quality ingredients—something shoppers with more discretionary dollars would be willing to pay more for.

However, foods sold under the Bettergoods label have been impacted by a few different recalls over the brand’s short lifetime.

Back in October 2024, some of its waffle products were caught up in a larger multi-brand waffle product recall, and just this past August, a Bettergoods Pistachio Nut Butter product was recalled due to Salmonella fears.

What products are being recalled?

For the latest recall, there is only one product involved:

• Name: Bettergoods Authentic Italian Lemon Alfredo Fettuccine
• Size: 22 oz
• UPC: 194346442706

The recall notice states the product is frozen.

The original recall of the product limited units to certain lot numbers. However, the new recall notice says all lot codes of the product are now included in the recall.

Images of the recalled product’s packaging can be found here.

Where was the recalled product sold?

The recalled product was distributed to Walmart stores nationwide.

What is Listeria?

Listeria is a bacterium that can cause a serious infection.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1,250 people in the United States contract a Listeria infection each year. Of those, about 172 people die from it, giving the infection a high mortality rate.

While a Listeria infection can affect anyone, the infection is particularly dangerous for certain groups of people, including:

• Pregnant women
• Newborns
• Adults aged 65 or older
• People with weakened immune systems

According to the recall notice, routine sampling by state agriculture services revealed that the recalled pasta may contain the harmful bacteria.

What should I do if I have the recalled product?

You should take the product back to its place of purchase for a refund. You can find out the full details of the recall in the recall notice here.