TORONTO - About 1,850 frozen dinners distributed by Meals on Wheels and similar charitable organizations in B.C., Ontario and New Brunswick are being recalled because they may contain Listeria.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the product manufacturer, Private Recipes Ltd. of Brampton, Ont., issued the recall Friday afternoon after products tested positive for Listeria.

The affected product is Private Recipe brand 370-gram creamed salmon with mashed potatoes and glazed carrots that has an "item number" of 12012 and a best-before date of June 6, 2009.

CFIA spokesman Garfield Balsom said the food inspection agency received positive test results on Thursday and immediately proceeded with an investigation, which resulted in the company voluntarily recalling the product.

"We'll certainly be conducting an investigation at the facility and make sure that there's no other products affected, that's ongoing," said Balsom.

The Private Recipe recall has no connection to the massive recall of Maple Leaf Foods products that may contain Listeria.

A nationwide listeriosis outbreak tied to recalled meats has claimed 16 lives to date.

The bacteria can cause listeriosis, a foodborne illness that causes high fever, headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Elderly people and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to infection, as are those with weakened immune systems.

There have been no reported illnesses linked to the dinners. However, the market for the recalled frozen dinners is of particular concern, Balsom said.

"It is a product that's being sold to a vulnerable segment of the population."

The frozen dinner recall is the latest in a string of Listeria recalls since Maple Leaf pulled products made at its Toronto facility where the bacteria was discovered. A number of products that contained potentially affected Maple Leaf products have also been recalled in past weeks.

Separate recalls issued earlier this month also saw a variety of cheeses produced by Ontario-based Ivanhoe Cheese and a host of potentially tainted mushrooms pulled from the shelves.

"We've seen probably a few more over the last couple of weeks and why that is, we'll have to wait and see what kind of trends are developing," said Balsom.

"It may be because. . .more people are aware of them and there may be more vigilance involving them."