7 MILLION POUNDS OF BOAR’S HEAD DELI MEAT BEING RECALLED
The popular deli meat company Boar’s Head is recalling an additional 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat products made at a Virginia plant as an investigation into a deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning continues, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said Tuesday.
The new recall includes 71 products made between May 10 and July 29 under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names. It follows an earlier recall of more than 200,000 pounds of sliced deli poultry and meat. The new items include meat intended to be sliced at delis as well as some packaged meat and poultry products sold in stores.
They include liverwurst, ham, beef salami, bologna and other products made at the firm’s Jarratt, Virginia, plant.
People who bought the recalled products should throw them away or return them to the store, and also clean out their refrigerators as the bacteria can grow in cold temperatures and spread to other foods.
An investigation is underway by the FSIS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state public health partners.
Listeria infection is a food borne bacterial illness, most commonly caused by eating improperly processed deli meats and unpasteurized milk products, according to the Mayo Clinic. It’s the third-leading cause of death from food poisoning in the U.S.
Symptoms usually appear within two weeks of eating contaminated food, and include fever, muscle aches, tiredness, stiff neck and confusion. In severe cases, the bacteria may cause a blood infection or meningitis. The infection is dangerous for those who are older, with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women.
The CDC estimates that around 1,600 people get listeriosis each year, and about 260 die. Most cases aren’t linked to outbreaks, but there are usually a few outbreaks in a given year