An outbreak of deadly food poisoning has resulted in over 7 million pounds of Boar’s Head deli meats being recalled from a plant in Virginia. The outbreak, caused by the listeria bacteria, started in May and has led to two deaths and nearly 36 hospitalizations across 13 states.
Listeria, a resilient bacteria that can survive and grow even in refrigerated conditions, thrives in moist environments such as soil, water, and decaying vegetation. The bacteria are typically spread during the harvesting, processing, transportation, or storage of contaminated food. Once they enter a food processing plant, they can be challenging to eliminate.
The outbreak investigation revealed that many affected individuals had consumed deli meats sliced at grocery store deli counters. Listeria was detected in an unopened loaf of Boar’s Head liverwurst at a Maryland store, and subsequent testing confirmed that the same strain was causing illnesses in people.
People contract listeria poisoning by consuming foods contaminated with the bacteria. Symptoms can vary from mild, such as fever, muscle aches, nausea, and diarrhea, to more severe symptoms like headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions. The onset of symptoms can be quick, within hours or days of consuming contaminated food, or can take weeks to months to appear.
Those most at risk for listeria infection are young children, individuals over 65, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women. Cooking foods to a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius) can kill the bacteria, but since deli meats are typically consumed cold, it is essential to clean and sanitize all surfaces that may have come into contact with the contaminated products.
The recalled deli meats, including liverwurst, ham, beef salami, bologna, and others produced at the Jarratt, Virginia plant, bear the plant number EST.12612 or P-12612 inside the USDA mark on the label. These products were distributed nationally and internationally to countries like the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama. Consumers are advised not to consume the recalled meats and to either discard them or return them to the store for a refund.
