Across New York City, sandwich lovers are steering clear of deli meats and cheeses, at least “for a while,” amid the massive nationwide Boar’s Head recall.
The cold cut giant pulled an additional 7 million pounds of deli meat off store shelves Wednesday, expanding its July 25 recall of products due to an ongoing Listeria outbreak, causing many New Yorkers to think twice before ordering that tasty sandwich.
“I won’t be buying or ordering anything to do with cold cuts for a while,” Frannie Lombardi of Staten Island said.
According to the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service, the expansion follows the approximately 200,000 pounds of Boar’s Head ready-to-eat meat that was already pulled from the shelves last week after lab data showed that the brand’s liverwurst was contaminated with Listeria.
The second recall includes all items produced at Boar’s Head’s Jarratt, VA, facility. Some of these products off the extensive list include all-natural applewood smoked uncured ham, all-natural traditional uncured ham, gourmet pepper brand ham and many more.
A spokesperson for Boar’s Head said the company has several other plants, and the recall does not impact the majority of its products.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we made the decision to immediately and voluntarily expand our recall to include all items produced at the Jarratt facility, where our liverwurst product is made,” the spokesperson said. “We also made the decision to suspend ready-to-eat operations at this facility until further notice.”
Nonetheless, Marie Joie, another Staten Islander, said she is taking a break from the cold cuts.
“The body doesn’t recover well enough after food poisoning,” she said. “Gradually, over time, a lot of delis will start to lose business due to factories not storing their products under the normal room temperatures.”
Joie added that she has learned to double-check on the coldness of store freezers and refrigerators when it comes to meats and perishable foods.
“Because there are so many times I had to return items due to lazy customers not putting the food back into the refrigerator or freezer right away, which is costly,” she said. “Yesterday it cost me $40 in Family Fruit just to come home to see their fruits and vegetables starting to spoil. I’m so over this nonsense.”
The recall is so severe, that some grocery chains, including Stop & Shop, temporarily closed their delis for deep cleaning.
A spokesperson for the supermarket giant said that after Boar’s Head notified the company of the recall expansion, it took action to help “safeguard our customers by temporarily closing our delis again for deep cleaning and sanitization.”
The spokesperson also said Stop & Shop discarded all other open deli meats and cheeses that could have come in contact with the recalled items.
“This is in addition to the actions we took last week, when the recall was initially announced, to discard all open deli products and deep clean and sanitize the delis,” he said. “As always, ensuring the safety of the products we sell is our highest priority.”
It is unclear right now how much money the retailer lost due to the recall, but as of Tuesday afternoon, all Stop & Shop delis were reopened.
amNew York Metro called the Stop & Shop location in Great Kills on Staten Island and spoke to a worker who said the deli counter is open “and we’re selling Boar’s Head products.”
An employee at a Stop & Shop in Maspeth said the deli counter was up and running, but was not sure if the store was back to selling Boar’s Head meats.
Meanwhile, a small gourmet Italian deli on Staten Island was packed with deli meats on Thursday. An employee assured customers that all the Boar’s Head products impacted by the recall have been pulled.
Still, the re-opened deli counters and pulled products seem to provide little reassurance for cautious New Yorkers across the city.
Liz Franco of the Upper West Side said she is “absolutely” skipping over deli counters these days.
“My family eats deli meat, I do not,” she said. “But I buy it for them and I won’t be buying it now.”
MaryElizabeth Hogan, also from the Upper West Side, said she has stopped ordering one of her favorite sandwiches: turkey with tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise.
“I’m not going to order that anymore,” she said. “From now on it’s going to be egg and cheese on a roll.”
Listeria: The risks to pregnant women and other vulnerable groups
Listeria is a foodborne bacterial illness. Anyone can get a Listeria infection, but pregnant women, people older than 65 and those with weakened immune systems are at greater risk.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pregnant women are 10 times more likely than other people to get Listeria infection.
Alexis Kandra lives on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. As an expectant mother, she is particularly concerned.
“I’m currently pregnant, and while I’ve been avoiding deli meats, the outbreak made me think twice about ordering cheese at the deli,” she said. “I’m worried about cross contamination.”
The CDC also says that such an infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths and preterm labor.
In the meantime, while many New Yorkers are choosing to forgo the cold cuts, there are a few brave folks who are continuing to enjoy their summer sandwiches.
When asked if he’d think twice about ordering a sandwich, Staten Islander, Steven Carl, said, “not at all.”
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