Insects, Mold, Algae, Blood Linked to Boar’s Head Meat Recall

This is such major news because we’re talking about one of the most popular, top-tier meats out there. Whether you buy it at your grocery store meat counter or have a favorite sandwich shop or deli that uses it, now is the time for vigilance.

There’s a listeriosis outbreak involving Boar’s Head deli meat and it’s the biggest since the 2011 outbreak linked to cantaloupe.

According to NBC, USDA officials have recorded 69 instances in the last year where the Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt, Virginia didn’t comply with federal regulations.

That plant is at the center of this wide-spread outbreak.

Flies, small flying gnat-like insects, and steady lines of ants both dead and alive have been found, as well as black mold like substances, green algal growth, and ample amounts of blood in puddles on the floor according to NBC News was all recorded and now appears to be the cause of this outbreak.

According to Martha Stewart’s website, it all started in late July and is still a gigantic concern. It went from a recall of 200,000 pounds of liverwurst and deli meats to more than seven million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products.

With at least nine deaths and nearly 60 people hospitalized, this isn’t your basic food recall.

Listeria is a bacteria that can cause severe illness, known as listeriosis, when it spreads beyond the gut to other parts of the body. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, diarrhea, and stomach pain.

Personally I’d throw away all Boar’s Head products however only certain products have been recalled.

Look for “EST. 12612” or “P-12612” printed inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels. Some of the recalled products have sell by dates into October 2024.

Here’s a map of the 18 states where people have reported Listeria and gotten sick, hospitalized, and/or died.

However, according to the CDC, this outbreak isn’t necessarily limited to these states as these are just the states that have reported illnesses or deaths. It’s most likely more since many people recover without seeing a doctor or aren’t tested for Listeria.