Alberta shoppers have a new reason to check the ready-made sandwiches in their fridge before packing lunch. A Canadian Food Inspection Agency recall names products supplied by Fresh Bites Inc. because of possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. CP24 reported on the warning on September 18, 2026, describing 28 affected sandwich products. The official notice lists Alberta as the distribution area and includes Fresh Bites, Fresh & Local, Spyhill and products without a brand name. This is a specific product recall, not a warning against every packaged sandwich or every item sold under those brands. The immediate takeaway is straightforward: compare the package with the official list, and do not eat a recalled sandwich even if it looks normal.
Start with the brand and product name, then check the size, UPC and best-before code together. For the listed Fresh Bites sandwiches, the recall covers all best-before dates up to and including 26 SE 19. That same cutoff applies to the listed Spyhill Cold Cut & Mozzarella Sub, a 175 g product with no UPC shown in the notice. Fresh Bites examples include the 200 g Turkey & Bacon Sub, the 195 g Ham & Cheddar Sandwich and the 205 g Turkey Club Croissant. These examples are not the complete list. The wording 'up to and including' matters: shoppers should not search only for a package bearing the final date. An earlier date on an otherwise matching product is covered too.
The other groups have different cutoffs, so a quick glance at one brand's date is not enough. Listed Fresh & Local products have all best-before dates up to and including 26 SE 20 affected. They include the 220 g Ham & Cheese Sub, the 240 g Hungryman Sub and the 200 g Italian Sub, among others. Products recorded with no brand name have a cutoff of 26 SE 17. That group includes the 232 g Ultimate Sub, 145 g Half Ultimate Sub and 145 g Brie, Fig & Turkey Naan. Some similarly named sandwiches have different weights or appear under different brands. Use the complete CFIA table rather than assuming a familiar name identifies the package. If the wrapper is missing, ask the seller to help identify what you bought before eating it.
If your sandwich matches, stop using it and keep it out of shared lunches. The CFIA says recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the location where they were purchased; they must not be consumed, served, used, sold or distributed. As a practical shopping step, photograph the label and keep the receipt if you still have it, then contact the store if you need instructions for a return. The notice does not set out a universal refund policy, so do not assume every retailer will handle missing receipts the same way. Check lunch bags and workplace fridges as well as the kitchen shelf. If someone else in the household bought or packed the sandwich, share the product details rather than forwarding only a headline.
A smell test cannot settle this question. The recall warning says food contaminated with Listeria may not look or smell spoiled but can still make someone sick. It also says there have been no reported illnesses associated with these products at the time of the notice reviewed for this article. That is useful context, but it does not cancel the instruction to avoid them. The Public Health Agency of Canada explains that listeriosis can cause intestinal illness or a more serious invasive infection. Pregnant people, older adults and people with weakened immune systems need particular caution. If you think you became ill after eating a recalled product, contact a health care provider and mention the food and recall. This shopping checklist is not a diagnosis or a substitute for medical care.
Replacing a discarded lunch need not turn into an unplanned grocery haul. First check what unaffected food you already have, then buy only what is needed for the next meal or two. If you choose another packaged sandwich, compare its identifying details with the recall rather than relying on a different-looking wrapper. A markdown sticker or a date that has not yet passed is not evidence that a recalled item is safe. For replacement foods, compare the actual portion and shelf price, and consider whether you can use everything before it spoils. Those are general budgeting suggestions, not claims about current specials. No particular retailer discount, replacement offer or compensation programme is established by the sources for this story.
Keep the official notice bookmarked if these brands are part of your regular lunch routine. The CFIA says its food safety investigation may lead to other products being recalled and that it is checking whether industry is removing affected products from sale. That means the source list, not a saved social-media screenshot, is the best place to check for changes. As of this September 19 review, the notice identifies Alberta distribution; shoppers elsewhere should not read this as a confirmed nationwide sandwich recall. For now, the useful action is a targeted check: identify the sandwich, match all the package details, remove recalled food and plan a modest replacement. That protects both the lunch plan and the grocery budget without treating unrelated products as recalled.
Source trail: Canadian Food Inspection Agency — Various brands of sandwiches recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes: https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/various-brands-sandwiches-recalled-due-listeria-monocytogenes CP24 — Sandwich products sold by Calgary company recalled over possible listeria (September 18, 2026): https://cp24.com/news/canada/2026/09/18/sandwich-products-sold-by-calgary-company-recalled-over-possible-listeria Public Health Agency of Canada — Listeria (listeriosis): Symptoms and treatment: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/listeriosis.html