Thousands of consumers are being warned they could have been exposed to a deadly bacteria after eating a popular breakfast item. 

Made Fresh Salads issued an urgent recall Friday for 14 flavors of its cream cheeses, including scallion, garlic and herb and apple cinnamon, over fears they could be laced with listeria.

The spreads were in 5lb white plastic tubs stamped with 'Made Fresh Salads' and sold directly to retail stores in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and the New York City area. They have a best-before date of February 27. 

No illnesses have been reported, but people are being urged to contact their health provider if they suffer from warning signs. 

Stores are being told to throw out the tubs or return them to sellers for a full refund.

Healthy adults infected with listeria suffer from a high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea that last for one to three days.

In serious cases, the bacteria, which causes an infection called listeriosis, can spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and cause the life-threatening complication sepsis. It may also spread to the brain and cause encephalitis, or brain swelling. 

Young children, elderly adults and those with a weakened immune system are more at risk from the disease. Pregnant women are also at risk of a miscarriage or stillbirth.

The FDA raised the alarm over the contamination, which the manufacturer said was detected during routine testing for microorganisms.

The listeria was detected on a mixer in the manufacturing line, the company said, which has now been removed from the line.

The flavors being recalled are: Apple cinnamon, caramel apple, blueberry, garlic and herb, jalapeno, jalapeno cheddar, lox, scallion, strawberry, sundried tomato, vegetable, walnut raisin, whipped and tofu. 

Those who have purchased Made Fresh Salads cream cheeses are also urged to contact the company at 718-765-0082.

It was not clear exactly how many cream cheese tubs were affected or which retail stores the tubs were sold to.

It is at least the second recall to hit the company in just four months, after it also issued an alert on its Macaroni Salad and Tuna Deluxe Salad products in November last year — after an inspection by state food inspectors found they were also contaminated with listeria.

The products were sold in 5lb and 30lb containers directly to retail stores across New York State. 

No illnesses were reported at the time and, in response, the company suspended production of the product. Those who had purchased the salads were told to return them to the seller for a full refund.

Symptoms of listeria start within a few days to two weeks of someone being infected with the disease.

The bacteria is able to survive and continue to reproduce at temperatures as low as 31F (-0.4C), making it a constant hazard in refrigerators. In previous cases, it has been detected in deli meats, pate, cold-smoked fish, soft cheeses and unpasteurized dairy products. 

It is not clear how it gets into production lines, but this is often linked to fecal contamination — because the bacteria is often found in the guts of animals.

To treat the disease, doctors prescribe patients antibiotics to clear the infection. For healthy adults, the disease can disappear in a few days without treatment.

About 1,250 people are infected with listeria in the US every year, the CDC estimates, while 172 die from the infections annually.