NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials said Friday they are recalling some Boar’s Head liverwurst and deli meats. Listeria outbreak It has caused nearly 30 people to become ill and two to die.
Boar’s Head Provisions has recalled its liver sausage because it may be contaminated with Listeria. United States Department of Agriculture The agency said samples of Boar’s Head liverwurst sold at a Maryland store tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.
The company is also recalling sliced deli meats produced on the same production line as the tainted liver sausage at a Virginia plant on the same day, according to the USDA. Samples were taken from unopened packages and collected by health officials as part of an investigation into the Listeria outbreak.
Health officials said testing of liverwurst samples was ongoing to determine whether they were linked to the latest outbreak.
“We are cooperating fully with government authorities and are conducting our own independent investigation into this incident,” the Sarasota, Florida-based company said in a statement.
The Listeria outbreak was first reported last week. Since late May, 34 people have been infected in 13 states, with all but one hospitalized. Two have died, in Illinois and New Jersey. Because symptoms can take weeks to appear, officials said more cases are likely.
Authorities said the most common reported cases were from eating sliced turkey, liverwurst and ham from delis.
Listeria can contaminate food and make people who eat it sick. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, nausea and diarrhea. It can be treated with antibiotics, but is particularly dangerous for pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1,600 people get listeria food poisoning each year and about 260 die from it.
The recall of more than 200,000 pounds of meat shipped nationwide by Boar’s Head applies to meat sliced at the deli counter, not prepackaged meats. It includes numerous multi-pound packages of Bologna, Garlic Bologna, Beef Bologna, Beef Salami, Italian Cappy Style Ham and Extra Hot Italian Cappy Style Ham stamped with a sell-by date of Aug. 10. It also includes Steakhouse Roasted Bacon Heat ‘n’ Eat, which has a sell-by date of Aug. 15.
The company said customers should throw out the recalled products or return them to stores for a refund, and health officials said they should thoroughly clean refrigerators to prevent contamination of other foods.
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