A supplier of frozen fruit and vegetables to major U.S. supermarkets has recalled products made over the past two years because of concerns they may be contaminated with a dangerous strain of listeria, U.S. food inspectors said.

CRF Frozen Foods LLC expanded the recall, first issued last month, to cover 358 products sold under 42 brands, including products sold at Costco Co., Trader Joe's and​Safeway under brands including Bybee's, Columbia River and Organic By Nature.

The initial recall in late April covered 15 frozen vegetable products and halted operations at CRF's plant in Pasco, Wash.

The new recall includes frozen foods ranging from broccoli to sweet potatoes to blueberries, all of which "have the potential to be contaminated," according to a company statement.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday said CRF's products had been linked to eight listeria infections since September 2013. All eight people were hospitalized and two died, though health officials said listeria wasn't the cause of death for either individual.

CRF's recall comes a year after iconic Texas ice cream maker Blue Bell Creameries issued one of the most sweeping U.S. food recalls by a single brand after its products were tied to a listeria outbreak linked to three deaths and multiple other illnesses. That recall threatened to topple the century-old company before an emergency investment from a local billionaire helped it recover.

Listeria is a potentially deadly bacteria that generally doesn't cause serious illnesses in healthy people but poses a threat to pregnant women, newborns, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

On Friday, Dole Food Co. said the U.S. Justice Department had launched a criminal investigation over a listeria outbreak tied to that company's packaged salads, which was linked to four deaths in the U.S. and Canada.

Write to Jesse Newman at jesse.newman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 03, 2016 23:35 ET (03:35 GMT)