The deadly Boar’s Head listeria outbreak claimed another life, raising the grim tally to three, and nine more have fallen ill since millions of pounds of the popular deli meat were recalled last month, the Centers for Disease Control announced Thursday.
The latest fatality was in Virginia, following deaths in Illinois and New Jersey from the tainted meat outbreak that began in May, the agency said. The deceased have ranged in age from 32 to 94 years old.
Meanwhile, 43 have now been sickened across 13 states, with all of them hospitalized. It’s likely countless others have also fallen sick but haven’t reported their maladies.
Most people don’t get medical care and are not tested for the bacteria, according to a Food Poison Journal report.
Boar’s Head — a 119-year-old family-run business headquartered in Sarasota, Fla . — did not immediately comment.
The company recalled seven million pounds of meat last week – up from 200,000 pounds it pulled off shelves when the illnesses were first reported on July 26.
The Boar’s Head facility in Jarratt, Va. was identified as the source of the outbreak, first detected by the Maryland Department of Health after it tested an unopened package of liverwurst.
On July 30, the company said that it had learned from the USDA that its Strassburger Brand Liverwurst “has been linked to the national deli meat listeria outbreak. Based on this new information, we took steps to ensure we are doing everything possible to protect public health.”
The expanded recall on July 31 included 71 products listed on the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service website.
There are at least three lawsuits filed against Boar’s Head and food stores that sell its products, including a proposed class action complaint filed by a customer in Queens who claimed that Boar’s Head didn’t do enough to warn customers about the safety of its products.
An elderly couple from Missouri also filed a complaint when the wife, Sue Flemming, 88, became ill and was hospitalized after eating Boar’s Head liverwurst.
Meanwhile, supermarkets have been advised to remove Boar’s Head signage from their deli counters “until further notice,” according to a memo obtained by The Post and sent by the National Supermarket Association to its 750 members.
Sales of Boar’s Head products in local stores are down, according to a supermarket owner in the Bronx.
“Our deli clerk has been getting questions about the products,” the owner told The Post.
The CDC is advising consumers who purchased the recalled products to clean their refrigerators and “any surfaces that may have touched the products.”
Food retailers are advised to shut down their deli counters to do a deep cleaning of equipment and surfaces that could cross contaminate other products.
