Topline
Two listeria outbreaks announced in the United States over the last week have led stores and brands, including Boar’s Head, Wiers Farm and Freshire Farms, to recall products in 23 states including deli meats, peppers, green beans, squash, parsley and other produce, with the elderly, very young and pregnant women at the most risk of serious infection or death from the foodborne illness.
Boar’s Head deli meats on display in Georgia.
Key Facts
A listeria outbreak in deli meats was first reported last week, with the Food and Drug Administration confirming that 34 people were sickened across more than a dozen states, with all but one hospitalized and two deaths, one in Illinois and the other in New Jersey.
During the investigation into the outbreak, the Boar’s Head brand recalled a number of deli meats and the United States Department of Agriculture said it was conducting testing to determine if those products were connected to the outbreak.
The same week, the Department of Agriculture announced that more than a dozen pre-packaged and bulk summer vegetables were being recalled due to possible listeria contamination, though no illnesses have been reported associated with that recall—the two do not appear to be related.
Listeria is a foodborne illness most often contracted by eating improperly processed deli meats (Listeria spreads easily among deli equipment, surfaces, hands and food, the CDC says) and unpasteurized milk products, and the hearty bacteria can survive refrigeration and even freezing.
Most healthy people rarely become ill from listeria infection, but it does disproportionately impact people older than 65, newborns and pregnant women, who may themselves experience only mild symptoms but babies in utero can die from listeria.
Almost all cases (87%) require hospitalization and one in six people die from the illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Where Have People Gotten Sick From Listeria In Deli Meat?
More than 30 people were sickened in 13 states, according to the FDA—Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland—and two people died.
What Deli Meats Have Been Recalled For Listeria?
Boar’s Head Provisions Co. recalled liverwurst after a sample of the product in a Maryland store tested positive for listeria, and the company has also recalled meats sliced on the same day on the same line as the liverwurst at a Virginia plant. Those include Virginia old fashioned ham, Italian Cappy style ham, extra hot Italian Cappy style ham, bologna, beef salami, steakhouse roasted bacon ham and garlic bologna with an Aug. 10 sell-by date. More specifics can be found on the USDA website. The outbreak has been linked to meat sliced at deli counters, not prepackaged meats.
How Does Listeria Spread Among Deli Meats?
The listeria bacteria can be found in soil, water, animal feces and raw materials. The CDC says cold cuts, cheeses and other deli products are at particular risk of listeria because of how easy it is for the bacteria to spread among deli equipment and surfaces. While meats are kept refrigerated, refrigeration does not kill listeria, and it can be a tough bacteria to eliminate. When meats are prepared at a facility where listeria persists, the bacteria can spread on surfaces, hands and through the food itself. One person died and 16 were sickened due to a listeria outbreak among deli meats and cheeses in six states in 2022, and a similar outbreak killed one and sickened another 12 in four states in 2020.
What Stores Have Recalled Produce For Listeria, And In What States?
Walmart has recalled bagged and bulk produce in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Aldi locations in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have done the same. Other stores, including Save-a-Lot, Kroger, Shop ‘n Save, have also recalled products in the states listed above and Maine, Missouri, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Tennessee.
What Vegetables Have Been Recalled For Listeria?
Bagged poblanos, cubanelle peppers, green beans, salad cucumbers, serranos, organic bell peppers, cucumbers, yellow squash and zucchini from the Wiers Farm have been recalled, as have bagged green beans and jalapenos from Freshire Farms. Bulk Anaheim peppers, clinanto, cubanelle peppers, cucumbers, green beans, green bell peppers, habanero peppers, hungarian wax peppers, jalapeno peppers, mustard greens, pickling cucumbers, parsley, poblanos, serranos and tomatillos have also been recalled, though no specific brand names were mentioned. The barcodes for each recalled product can be found on the FDA’s website.
Surprising Fact
A Missouri couple has sued Boar’s Head and Schnucks Markets after they purchased contaminated liverwurst in June. Sue Fleming, 88, became “deathly ill” and was hospitalized with a listeria infection, according to her lawyer. She did recover from the illness after a long stay in a hospital, followed by a stay at a rehabilitation facility. The couple is now suing for $25,000 in damages and claims the illness caused “loss of enjoyment of life” and “damage to the marital relationship.”
Further Reading
Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes reporter who covers breaking news with a frequent focus on the entertainment industry, streaming, sports news, publishing, pop culture and climate change. She joined Forbes in 2023 and lives in Dallas. She’s covered Netflix’s hottest documentaries, a surge of assaults reported on social media, the most popular books of the year and how climate change stands to impact the way we eat. Roeloffs was included on Editor & Publisher Magazine’s “ 25 Under 30” list in 2023 and worked covering local news in the greater Boston area from 2017 to 2023. She graduated with a double major in political science and journalism from Northeastern University. Follow Roeloffs for continued coverage of streaming wars, pop culture news and trending topics.
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