Several breakfast sandwiches sold by Starbucks have been recalled from 250 branches in the United States. The sandwiches may reportedly have been contaminated by Listeria.

Pre-packed sausage, egg and cheddar cheese on English muffin breakfast sandwiches from all 250 Starbucks stores in the country, including Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma have been recalled due to fears of listeria contamination. The products come in 6-ounce clear plastic packages and are marked with "Best Before: 07-AUG-2016" on top. The products were sold to the stores on March 3 and March 4.

The coffee chain's food supplier Progressive Gourmet reportedly alerted them after a routine testing revealed the presence of the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria on a contact surface in the production facility, which may have been in contact with the said products.

Listeriosis

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in a press release that listeria can cause the infection listeriosis. It is a foodborne illness that can cause serious infection among children, seniors, pregnant women and those with weak immune systems. People in good health that may be affected by the bacteria may experience stiffness, headaches, high fever, nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some healthy people may consume contaminated foods with the bacteria but do not get ill. However, at-risk people can prevent infection by not consuming higher-risk foods, like uncooked meats, vegetables, raw milk, smoked seafood and soft cheeses.

According to the FDA, Progressive Gourmet "working closely with FDA and the Massachusetts Department of Health and continues to investigate the source of the problem."

No Reported Illnesses

There were no reported listeria infection cases among Starbucks customers.

"As soon as we were made aware of a supplier issue with a specific lot of Sausage, Egg and Cheddar Breakfast sandwiches, we removed the impacted product from the select Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas area stores that carried it," A spokesperson from Starbucks said. "The product itself has not tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. No other products are affected because of this issue. We have not received any reports of illnesses to date."

The FDA is urging customers who may have bought the product to return it to the store where he or she bought it to get a full refund. For customers who want to contact Progressive Gourmet for questions, they can call 1-800-224-7630 (9:00 am-5:00 pm Monday through Friday EST).