These are the Boar’s Head deli meats recalled amid the listeria outbreak
This summer’s widespread outbreak of listeria infections tied to recalled Boar’s Head deli meats has had many people combing their refrigerators to see if they had purchased the tainted products. And with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s announcement Wednesday that the death toll from the outbreak had risen to nine with 57 hospitalized, more consumer questions arose about the recalled meat.
Here’s what to know:
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What Boar’s Head meats were recalled?
In late July, Boar’s Head recalled a liverwurst product, along with a handful of other products that had been made on the same line and day at its Virginia plant. Four days later, the company expanded the list and recalled 7 million additional pounds of meat, including a number of varieties of ham, bacon, bologna, frankfurters, sausage, pate and head cheese sold under Boar’s Head and Old Country brands. The company has posted a complete list of the recalled products on its website (also included below), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture published images of their labels.
These are mostly the type of meats found sliced fresh to order at deli counters, the company said, along with “a limited number of pre-packaged retail sausage, frankfurter and bacon products produced at one plant.” The recalled products are limited to those purchased before July 31, according to the list.
The CDC cautions consumers to look for products they might have purchased bearing labels reading “EST. 12612” or “P-12612” inside the USDA mark of inspection. Some of the products have sell-by dates into October, the CDC notes.
Boar’s Head said all affected products have since been removed from sale. “All Boar’s Head items currently available in food retail and foodservice outlets are not part of the recall,” the company said.
Below is the list of recalled products listed on the Boar’s Head website, as of July 29. Again, the recall only includes products with purchased-by dates before July 31.
Ham: All Natural Applewood Smoked Uncured Ham, All Natural Traditional Uncured Ham, BourbonRidge Uncured Smoked Ham, Brown Sugar & Spice Off the Bone Ham, Gourmet Pepper Brand Ham, Hickory Smoked Roast Uncured Ham, Italian Cappy Ham, Hot Italian Cappy Style Ham, Extra Hot Italian Cappy Style Ham, Maple Glazed Roast Pork Loin, Peppenero Garlic Ham, Porchetta Roasted Seasoned Pork (Foodservice), Roasted Pork, Rosemary & Sundried Tomato Ham, SmokeMaster Beechwood Smoked Ham, Sweet Slice Smoked Uncured Ham, Tavern Ham, Virginia Ham.
Bologna: Pork & Beef Bologna, 33% Lower Sodium Bologna, Beef Bologna, Beef Salami, Garlic Bologna, Head Cheese, Strassburger Brand Liverwurst, Liverwurst Pate, Olive Terrine Loaf, Pickle & Pepper Terrine Loaf, Spiced Ham.
Frankfurters: Uncured Pork & Beef Frankfurters, Uncured Pork & Beef Frankfurters - Natural Casing, Uncured Beef Frankfurters, Uncured Beef Frankfurters- Natural Casing, Uncured Cocktail Frankfurters, Uncured Beef Knockwurst.
Sausage: Bratwurst, Hot Smoked Uncured Sausage, Uncured Kielbasa, All Natura Chicken Sausage - Smoked Andouille.
Old Country: Old Country Brand All Nat Uncured Smoked Ham, Old Country Brand All Natural Uncured Ham, Old Country Brand Beechwood Smoked Ham, Old Country Brand BourbonRidge Smoked Ham, Old Country Brand Brown Sugar & Spice Delight Off the Bone Ham, Old Country Brand Cappy Brand Ham, Old Country Brand Gourmet Pepper Ham, Old Country Brand Habanero Ham, Old Country Brand Rosemary Tomato Ham, Old Country Brand Black Forest Ham, Old Country Brand Canadian Style Bacon, Old Country Brand Cappy Ham, Old Country Brand Hot Butt Cappy Ham, Old Country Brand Seasoned Fresh Ham, Old Country Brand Sweet Slice Smoked Ham, Old Country Brand Tavern Ham.
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Is Boar’s Head turkey part of the recall?
None of Boar’s Head’s turkey varieties were a part of the recall, the company said. The company noted that none of its prepackaged deli meats were affected and neither were its deli-counter-sliced turkey, chicken or roast beef. None of the brand’s cheeses were part of the recall, either.
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Is Boar’s Head meat processed?
Deli and other retail meats are considered “processed” goods by the definition set by Harvard Medical School: “those that have been changed from their original form in some way.” Many cold cuts have added sodium or nitrites, as well.
And the list of recalled Boar’s Head products include frankfurters and other sausages, which are considered “highly processed,” a category typically defined by lengthy ingredient lists.
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How does listeria get into deli meat?
It isn’t clear how the listeria found its way into the products at Boar’s Head’s Virginia facility. Government inspectors had repeatedly dinged the plant for failing to meet standards, citing mold, mildew, insects, dirty machinery, “heavy meat buildup” on walls and blood in puddles on the floor. Boar’s Head has not publicly disclosed what led to the contamination and has said that it is “conducting a rigorous investigation to identify the root cause of this incident.” The company did not respond to an email from The Washington Post seeking further comment.
More generally, the CDC lists “deli meats, cold cuts, hot dogs and sausages” among those that can commonly be contaminated with the bacteria. Cooking or fermenting those products during production might kill the bacteria, the CDC notes, but they could later be contaminated if they touch tainted surfaces during the production process.
Janet Buffer, the senior manager for the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University’s school of public health, notes that listeria can be particularly difficult to keep at bay in production and food-preparation settings. It can form a “biofilm,” she says, a configuration where the bacteria mass together and form a kind of bubble around it. “Sanitizer can’t break through that kind of thing, so they’re protected,” she says. “It takes a lot of scrubbing action to break biofilm.”
And deli meats provide a friendly environment for all bacteria, including listeria, Buffer says. They offer protein to feed it and a neutral pH level and moisture that allows it to thrive. “So bacteria like to grow in that kind of environment,” she says.
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Does heat kill listeria?
Yes, heating does kill most bacteria, including listeria, which is why pregnant women - who are much more vulnerable to infections, and for whom a listeria infection can be particularly damaging - are often advised to microwave deli meats until they are steaming before eating them.
One feature of listeria, though, that makes it particularly pernicious is that it can live in refrigerated foods - and on refrigerator shelves. “Typically in food safety, we tell people that refrigeration is the best thing to manage the growth and keep bacteria down to a safe level,” Buffer says. “But listeria can adapt to colder temperatures.”
She suggests that people clean their refrigerators with soap and water on a regular basis to prevent cross-contamination.
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