Federal food safety officials are telling anyone in Oregon or Washington with an eight-ounce package of curry chicken salad in the refrigerator to throw it away without tasting it.
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a public health alert for Curry Chicken Salad produced by Mary's Harvest Fresh Foods, Inc. of Portland, Oregon, over concerns the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. FSIS said it is "concerned that some product may be in consumers' refrigerators."
There have been no confirmed illnesses. The contamination concern surfaced through routine establishment testing, meaning the company's own testing program, not a sick consumer or an agency investigation.
How to Identify the Product
The item was produced on July 22, 2026. It comes in eight-ounce plastic packages containing portions of "CURRY CHICKEN SALAD" with a use-by date of 07/30/2026 printed on the back label. The packages bear establishment number P-39928 inside the USDA mark of inspection.
The product was shipped to retail locations in Oregon and Washington only. FSIS has not reported how much product was involved, and the alert does not list a UPC or lot number.
The use-by date has already passed, and that is the whole reason this is an alert rather than a recall. FSIS did not request a recall because the product is no longer available for purchase. That logic works for store shelves. It does not work for the back of a refrigerator, and it does not work for a freezer, which is the gap the alert is trying to close.
Consumers who bought the product should throw it away or return it to the place of purchase. Media and consumers with questions can contact Ernie Spada Jr., Senior Vice President and Owner of Mary's Harvest Fresh Foods, at 503-288-8300.
Freezing Does Not Solve This
Two properties of Listeria monocytogenes make this bacterium different from most foodborne pathogens, and both work against the assumption that an expired product is a resolved problem.
The first is cold tolerance. Listeria grows at refrigeration temperatures, which is why ready-to-eat refrigerated foods are a recurring source. Freezing does not kill it. If someone bought this salad, decided not to eat it before the use-by date, and put it in the freezer for later, the bacteria are still viable. That package should be discarded, not saved.
The second is the incubation period. Symptoms of invasive listeriosis can appear up to 70 days after exposure, and commonly appear one to four weeks out. Someone who ate this product in late July could become ill in August or September without connecting the two. That long tail is why FSIS issues alerts on expired product at all.
Listeria also persists on surfaces. Anyone who discards the product should clean the refrigerator shelf and drawer where it was stored with hot soapy water, then sanitize, and wash any containers or utensils that touched it.
Who Is Actually at Risk
This is a case where the general population and the high-risk population face genuinely different situations, and saying so is more useful than a blanket warning.
For most healthy adults and children, listeriosis exposure causes either nothing or a short gastrointestinal illness with diarrhea, fever, headache, and muscle aches. It is unpleasant and usually self-limiting.
The people who face serious risk are pregnant people, adults 65 and older, and anyone with a weakened immune system, including people undergoing cancer treatment, organ transplant recipients, people with HIV, and people on immune-suppressing medications for autoimmune conditions.
In pregnancy, listeriosis often presents as a mild flu-like illness in the pregnant person while causing severe consequences for the pregnancy, including miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, and life-threatening infection in the newborn. Pregnant people who ate this product should contact their obstetric provider even if they feel entirely well, and should say specifically what they ate and when.
For older adults and immunocompromised people, invasive listeriosis can progress to bloodstream infection and meningitis. Warning signs that warrant urgent evaluation include fever with stiff neck, severe headache, confusion, loss of balance or convulsions.
Anyone in Oregon or Washington who ate this salad and develops fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck or confusion over the next two months should seek medical care and specifically mention the exposure. That detail changes what a clinician tests for. Listeria is not identified on routine testing unless someone thinks to look for it.
What Happens Next
FSIS has not indicated that the alert will expand, and no illnesses have been linked to the product. The agency routinely reassesses alerts if illness reports emerge or if additional product is identified, and it would convert an alert into a recall if product were found to still be in commerce.
Consumers with food safety questions can call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6854 or email MPHotline@usda.gov. Problems with meat, poultry or egg products can be reported through the FSIS electronic consumer complaint system.
The reasonable takeaway is narrow. If you shop in Oregon or Washington and bought a curry chicken salad in the last ten days, check your refrigerator and freezer tonight and discard anything matching the description. If you already ate it and you are healthy, the odds of illness are low but the watch period runs two months. If you are pregnant, over 65 or immunocompromised, call a clinician rather than waiting for symptoms. MedicalDaily will report if FSIS expands the alert or if any illnesses are confirmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What product is affected? Eight-ounce plastic packages of "CURRY CHICKEN SALAD" from Mary's Harvest Fresh Foods, produced July 22, 2026, with a use-by date of 07/30/2026 and establishment number P-39928 inside the USDA mark of inspection.
Where was it sold? Retail locations in Oregon and Washington only. FSIS has not reported how much product was distributed.
Why is this an alert and not a recall? FSIS did not request a recall because the product is past its use-by date and no longer available for purchase. The alert addresses product consumers may still have at home.
I froze it. Is it safe now? No. Freezing does not kill Listeria monocytogenes, and the bacterium also grows at refrigeration temperatures. Discard the package rather than saving it.
Has anyone gotten sick? No confirmed illnesses have been reported. The concern was identified through routine testing at the establishment, not through illness reports.
How long should I watch for symptoms? Symptoms of invasive listeriosis can appear up to 70 days after exposure, most commonly within one to four weeks. Fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck or confusion warrant medical evaluation.
Who is most at risk? Pregnant people, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems. Pregnant people who ate the product should contact their obstetric provider even without symptoms.
