Yes, there is a Boar’s Head deli meat recall due to a listeria outbreak

Boar’s Head is one of the most popular packaged lunch meat brands in the country. The company offers a wide variety of deli meats and cheeses, but recent online search trends show many people are wondering if there is currently a recall on products in the United States in connection with a listeria outbreak.

THE QUESTION

Is there a Boar’s Head recall due to a listeria outbreak?

THE SOURCES

THE ANSWER

Yes, there is a Boar’s Head recall due to a listeria outbreak. Two people have died and 31 others were hospitalized from illness.

WHAT WE FOUND

Boar’s Head is recalling 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat products made at a Jarratt, Virginia, plant and shipped nationwide as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) investigates a deadly listeria outbreak. 

The recall includes 71 products made between May 10 and July 29 under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names. It is an expansion of an earlier recall of more than 200,000 pounds of sliced deli poultry and meat. 

As of July 26, 2024, 34 people in 13 states have reported being infected with the outbreak strain of listeria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC says it knows of 33 hospitalizations and of those, two people died, one in Illinois and one in New Jersey. 

“The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses. This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for listeria. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak,” the CDC says. 

The USDA says the products subject to recall were distributed to retail locations nationwide, and some were exported to the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama. The products shipped to retailers bear establishment number “EST. 12612” or “P-12612” inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels. A full list of products with photos of the labels can be found here.

Customers should either discard the recalled products or return them to the store for a full refund. Customers can also contact the Boar’s Head recall hotline at (888) 266-7913 with additional questions or concerns.

The CDC says listeria can survive in the refrigerator and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces. Listeria can cause severe illness when the bacteria spread to other parts of the body, which almost always results in hospitalization and sometimes death. Older adults, pregnant people and their newborns, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for severe illness.

Symptoms of severe listeria illness usually appear within two weeks after a person eats contaminated food, but may start as early as the same day or as late as 10 weeks after, according to the CDC. 

In people who aren’t pregnant, symptoms can include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions, fever and muscles ache. Pregnant people usually experience only fever, fatigue and muscle aches, but listeria illness can cause pregnancy loss or premature birth, the CDC says. 

Anyone who experiences symptoms of severe illness should call their health care provider right away. 

Those who don’t experience severe illness usually get mild food poisoning symptoms, such as diarrhea and fever, and typically recover without treatment. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.