Nine people are dead and 57 have fallen ill and been hospitalized due to a listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meat.
The company, and health officials, have been raising alarms about Boar's Head deli products since an initial recall on July 26, which was expanded days later to include 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products.
And while people are being urged to discard and not consume the recalled products, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention suggests consumers take precautions with other products being sold at deli counters.
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Because listeria bacteria can spread easily on deli counters and food equipment, there is a risk the germs can spread to other unrecalled products.
The CDC recommends people at higher risk for a severe listeria infection — those who are pregnant, 65 or older, or immunocompromised — only consume other deli products if they are preheated to 165 degrees.
American Academy of Family Physicians President Dr. Steven Furr told Scripps News those not at high risk can also take the same precautions to be safe.
“Healthy people can still eat other deli meat, but if you want to be extra cautious, you can heat it up to an internal temperature of 165 degrees to kill any bacteria,” said Furr. “People at high risk of getting sick should not eat any meats from deli counters unless they are heated to 165 degrees.”
Furr said refrigerating the meat is not enough to kill the bacteria.
“Listeria is a bacteria that can spread relatively easily, whether in food processing facilities or at the deli counter. It can spread to food that touches other contaminated food, equipment, or surfaces,” he said. “Keeping food like meat and cheese refrigerated doesn’t kill listeria, and it can continue to grow in the deli case or in your refrigerator at home.”
Boar’s Head first recalled its ready-to-eat liverwurst products produced between June 11 and July 17. The products are branded as “Boar’s Head Strassburger Brand Liverwurst made in Virginia." They come in 3.5-pound loaves in plastic casing, or from packages sliced fresh at local delis. Sell-by dates range from July 25 to Aug. 30.
The expansion covered 71 additional products that were packaged between May 10 and July 29. Affected products have sell-by dates ranging from 29-JUL-2024 through 17-OCT-24. A full list of the affected products is available on the USDA's website.
The CDC urges everyone to check their homes for any remaining recalled Boar’s Head products, and discard them or contact stores about returns.
Listeria can cause severe illness — known as invasive listeriosis — when the bacteria spread from the gut to other areas of the body, the CDC says.
Anyone experiencing symptoms of listeria illness — including fever, muscle aches, tiredness, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or seizures — should contact their healthcare provider right away.
It can take up to 10 weeks in some cases for symptoms of listeriosis to show.
For more information on the recall, click here.
