Boar’s Head Deli Products Recall has been widely expanded because of concerns they could be linked to a deadly listeria outbreak in the United States, federal officials said Tuesday.
An additional 3,500 tons of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brands were added to the initial recall, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
This is in addition to the approximately 103 tonnes of Boar’s Head products that were recalled last week.
The recall now affects a total of 71 products manufactured between May 10 and July 29, the USDA said. The products’ expiration dates range from July 29 to Oct. 17.
The problem was first discovered when the U.S. Food Safety Inspection Service was notified that a sample of liverwurst taken by the Maryland Department of Health from a Baltimore-area store tested positive for the same strain responsible for the outbreak, the USDA said.
The listeria outbreak has sickened at least 34 people in 13 states, according to the latest figures released Tuesday. two of whom diedhealth officials said.
The USDA said the recalled products were shipped nationwide, with some exported to Mexico, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic and Panama. They were shipped to retailers with the establishment number “EST. 12612” or “P-12612” inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels.
Some of the recalled products include:
- Virginia Ham
- Olive bread
- 100% Natural Traditional Ham
- SmokeMaster Beechwood Smoked Black Forest Ham
- Skinless beef sausages
- Pork and beef Frankfurters in natural casing
- Ham with dried tomatoes and rosemary
- Liver sausage pâté
- Canadian Bacon
- Garlic Bologna
- Haberno Old Country Ham
- Old-fashioned Black Forest Ham
A complete list of products affected by the recall can be viewed here.
The agency said there are concerns that some of the recalled products may be in consumers’ refrigerators and on grocery shelves. The first recall last week has prompted several supermarket chains to close their delicatessens.
Symptoms of Listeria Infection Symptoms often include fever, muscle aches, vomiting, and diarrhea. They can cause serious infections in women who are pregnant or older, as well as those with weakened immune systems, with symptoms such as headache, stiff neck, loss of balance, confusion, and seizures.
For pregnant women, Listeria infection can harm the baby, leading to “miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn,” the CDC warns.
Symptoms typically appear two weeks after eating contaminated food, but can appear as early as the same day or up to 10 weeks later, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Antibiotics are used to treat listeriosis.
Cardiovascular disease specialist Dr Nidhi Kumar told CBS New York Monday, listeria is a “hardy” bacteria that can “withstand high temperatures, such as being in a freezer and even a regular refrigerator.”
“If you have purchased deli meats and they are in your refrigerator, remember that they can contaminate entire surfaces, so you should clean your refrigerator with a bleach-based product,” Kumar said.
For more information about the outbreak and recall, visit the USDA website or call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline.
—Megan Cerullo and Sara Moniuszko contributed to this report.