A recall of Boar's Head deli meat products has been widely expanded over concerns that they may be linked to a fatal listeria outbreak in the U.S., federal officials said Tuesday.
Another 3,500 tons of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold under the Boar's Head and Old Country brands have been added to the initial recall, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
This is in addition to approximately 103 tons of Boar's Head products that were recalled last week.
The recall now includes a total of 71 products that were produced between May 10 and July 29, the USDA said. The products have sell-by dates ranging from July 29 to Oct. 17.
The issue was first discovered when the U.S. Food and Safety Inspection Service was notified that a liverwurst sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health from a store in the Baltimore area had tested positive for the same strain as the one responsible for the outbreak, the USDA said.
As of the latest numbers Tuesday, the listeria outbreak was to blame for sickening at least 34 people across 13 states, two of whom had died, health officials said.
The USDA said the recalled products were shipped nationwide and some were exported to Mexico, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic and Panama. They were shipped to retailers with the establishment number "EST. 12612" or "P-12612" inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels.
Some of the recalled products include:
- Virginia Ham
- Olive Loaf
- All Natural Traditional Ham
- SmokeMaster Beechwood Smoked Black Forest Ham
- Skinless Beef Franks
- Natural Casing Pork & Beef Frankfurters
- Rosemary Sundried Tomato Ham
- Liverwurst Paté
- Canadian Style Bacon
- Garlic Bologna
- Old Country Haberno Ham
- Old Country Black Forest Ham
A complete list of products included in the recall can be found here.
The agency said there are concerns that some recalled products may be in consumers' refrigerators and in retail deli cases. Last week's initial recall prompted several supermarket chains to close their delis.
Symptoms of listeria infection often include fever, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhea. It can cause serious infections in people who are pregnant or age 65 and older, as well as those who have weakened immune systems, with symptoms including headaches, stiff neck, loss of balance, confusion and convulsions.
For those who are pregnant, a listeria infection can harm the baby, leading to "miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn," the CDC warns.
Symptoms usually start two weeks after eating contaminated food but can start as early as the same day or up to 10 weeks after, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Antibiotics are used to treat listeria.
Cardiovascular disease specialist Dr. Nidhi Kumar told CBS New York Monday that listeria is a "sturdy" bacteria that can "withstand high temperatures, like being in a freezer and even a regular refrigerator."
"If you did purchase deli meat and it's in your refrigerator, remember, this can contaminate entire surfaces. So you want to clean out your refrigerator with a bleach-based product," Kumar said.
For more information on the outbreak and the recall, visit the USDA's website or call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline.
—Megan Cerullo and Sara Moniuszko contributed to this report.
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