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From BILL ATKINSON   Petersburg Progress-Index

JARRATT — An additional seven million pounds of deli meat processed at the Boar’s Head facility here is being recalled for fear it may be infected with the listeria bacteria.

Tuesday’s announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture expands the July 26 recall of more than 207,000 pounds of liverwurst and other meats. It also widens the time frame from June 11-27 to May 10-July 29, and covers 71 meat and poultry products with the Boar’s Head and Old Country labels.

“Whole genome sequencing results show that a liverwurst sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health tested positive for the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes,” USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a statement Tuesday. These products have “sell by” dates ranging from July 29 through Oct. 17.

Click here to view a list of the products being recalled.

The Florida-based deli-meat manufacturer has pinpointed all of the affected products as coming from its facility in Jarratt, about 40 miles south of Petersburg. The company has six processing plants, including one in Petersburg.

The recalled products were distributed nationwide and in the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Panama and Mexico. USDA said they were both products sent to delis inside grocery stores and packaged products.

Listeria causes the bacterial infection listeriosis, an infection that most commonly sickens pregnant women, newborns, people over 65 years of age, and people with compromised immune systems.  As of Tuesday, USDA reported 34 cases of liseriosis in 13 states linked to the Boar’s Head products.

They also have been responsible for two deaths.

“FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ refrigerators and in retail deli cases,” the agency said. It urges consumers who have purchased the products to either trash them or return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers are also urged to thoroughly clean their refrigerators to avoid cross-contamination of other products.

Consumers with questions regarding the recall are urged to call Boar’s Head Provisions Co., Inc., Customer Service at (800) 352-6277.

For more on this story go to: https://eu.progress-index.com/story/business/2024/07/31/boars-head-jarratt-recall-grows-to-seven-million-pounds/74613303007/