A federal lawsuit alleges that the listeria outbreak associated with Boar’s Head deli meats has now reached Alabama.
In a recent development, a woman has lodged a complaint in federal court on behalf of her son, who is currently undergoing treatment in the hospital due to the dangerous foodborne pathogen.
A man purchased Boar’s Head Bologna from a grocery store in Huntsville in late July, as mentioned in the complaint. Shortly after consuming it, he was admitted to the hospital with symptoms including fever, headaches, nausea, and other related discomforts.
According to the complaint, the man’s condition deteriorated further. He started experiencing drooping on one side of his face and had difficulty breathing to the extent that he required the use of a ventilator.
According to the complaint, he underwent a spinal tap around August 7th at another hospital, which confirmed the presence of listeria in his body.
The man is in a state where he cannot communicate, and it is uncertain if he will survive.
On July 26, the initial recall by Boar’s Head Provisions Co, Inc. was prompted by the discovery of Listeria monocytogenes in a sample of its liverwurst in Maryland. As a result, the company recalled all liverwurst products and deli meats manufactured on the same line, including bologna. Subsequently, on July 31, the recall was extended to encompass 71 different products. In total, over 7 million pounds of deli meats and poultry items have been removed from store shelves.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is actively investigating this outbreak and recently provided an update on its information page on August 8th.
According to the CDC, there were 43 confirmed cases of the illness in 13 states, excluding Alabama. It typically takes three to four weeks to establish whether a person is part of an outbreak, and the CDC believes that the actual number of affected individuals is likely higher than what has been reported.
The Alabama Department of Public Health has informed WBRC that it currently cannot confirm any cases of listeria infection in Alabama that are linked to this outbreak. Due to privacy concerns, they are unable to provide any comments on individual infections.
Boar’s Head was contacted by WBRC for a comment on the lawsuit, but they had not responded at the time this article was published.
Here is the list of product labels included in the recall:
