NBC News
Cheese and deli meat company Boar’s Head has recalled more than 207,000 pounds of products, including liverwurst and ham, in the U.S. market because they may be contaminated with the microbe. Listeria monocytogenes.
The move comes after liverwurst from a Maryland store tested positive for listeria. The sample was collected as part of an investigation into outbreaks of the disease in the country.
Until this Thursday, they have been detected 34 cases in 13 statesAll but one of those people were hospitalized, and two died: one patient in Illinois and another in New Jersey.
Health authorities say the outbreak is likely linked to the sale of cold cuts, as many of those affected reported eating turkey, liver pate or ham.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, which announced the recall Friday, said additional testing is underway to determine whether the Maryland sample is linked to the outbreak.
The recall includes Boar’s Head ready-to-eat liver pate produced between June 11 and July 17 (see product labels here), as well as other charcuterie products that were produced on similar dates and with the same machinery, such as beef salami, mortadella and ham.
A spokesman for Board’s Head said the company is conducting its own investigation and cooperating with government authorities.
“The health and safety of our customers is our top priority. As soon as a Listeria adulteration was confirmed in our Strassburger brand liver pate, we immediately and voluntarily recalled the product,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“As a precautionary measure, we also made the decision to voluntarily recall additional products that were produced on the same line and on the same day as the liver pate product.”
People who bought the contaminated products should throw them away or return them to the store. It’s also important to clean out their refrigerators, the USDA said, since the bacteria can grow in cold temperatures and spread to other foods.
Listeria is the third cause of death for food poisoning in the United States.
Symptoms usually appear within two weeks of eating contaminated food, but can sometimes develop immediately or up to 10 weeks later. Initial signs include: fever, muscle aches, fatigue, headache, stiff neck and confusionIn severe cases, the bacteria can cause a blood infection or meningitis.
The infection is most dangerous for older people or those with weakened immune systems. Pregnant women with listeriosis can pass the infection to a developing fetus, increasing the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, or premature birth.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that pregnant or vulnerable people avoid foods with a high risk of listeria contamination, such as deli meats, smoked seafood, and soft cheeses made from unpasteurized milk.
Most healthy people who become infected do not become seriously ill.
“For every case that gets reported, there are 15, 20, 25 cases that go unreported because there are so many people who get sick and say, ‘Oh, it’s a stomach bug, I’ll get over it,’” said Darin Detwiler, a professor of food regulatory policy at Northeastern University.
Sliced deli meat is considered high risk for several reasons: For one, listeria entering a manufacturing plant is easily spread between equipment and surfaces. Second, meat is often stored in refrigerators and consumed cold, so there isn’t enough heat to kill the bacteria.
Deli meat poses a lower risk if it is reheated until steaming hot or to an internal temperature of 165°F, according to the CDC.
Detwiler said no company is immune to food safety lapses. In theory, he said, even “a small mistake when it comes to hygiene in a production plant can result in what we are seeing right now.”
The CDC estimates that about 1,600 people get listeriosis each year and about 260 die. Most cases are not related to outbreaks.
Earlier this year, the CDC identified a listeria outbreak linked to queso fresco and cotija cheese that resulted in 23 hospitalizations and two deaths.
