From chicken to deli meats and frozen waffles, listeria outbreaks have been frequently making headlines this year. One large Boar’s Head outbreak has already been linked to 10 deaths.
Why are we seeing so many of these outbreaks?
Attorney Bill Marler of the food safety law firm Marler Clark told Audacy Thursday that the apparent uptick might be due to a shift in focus on the part of health inspectors. While COVID-19 has been a major focus since the start of the pandemic in 2020, it has now waned and that leaves more time and resources to investigate foodborne illnesses.
Marler has been working on such cases since a large-scale E.coli outbreak linked to Jack in the Box around 30 years ago. He said the recent Boar’s Head outbreak does stand out compared to other cases.
“Those inspection reports were some of the worst I’ve ever seen,” Marler said.
This week, his law firm filed three wrongful death lawsuits related to the Boar’s Head listeria outbreak. In a press release about the lawsuits, the law firm included some details about the inspection reports related to the Boar’s Head facility in Jarratt, Va.
“Multiple inspection records show consistent reports of mold and mildew throughout the Boar’s Head facility,” said the release. In February, an inspector observed blood in puddles on the floor, a rancid smell, and insects around the deli meats. Then, in June, another report flagged flies going in and out of “vats of pickle,” as well as walls with “heavy meat buildup” and more bugs, including cockroaches, beetles and “ants traveling down the wall.”
This July, federal inspectors also found mold and mildew around the hand washing sinks for the workers tasked with handling meats marketed as ready to eat. Mold was also found inside steel vats and holding coolers, along with a puddle that had a “a green algal growth.”
According to Marler, these descriptions were worse than ones he reviewed regarding a South Africa listeria outbreak that claimed around 200 lives. He also noted that facility upkeep isn’t the only danger to consider when thinking about foodborne illness.
“Every step of food processing, there’s the opportunity for contamination,” explained Dr. Céline Gounder, a CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, told CBS this week. “That’s number one. Consumers want ready-to-eat food, so of course, they’re more processed as a result.”
Marler explained how the recent E.Coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s is believed to be caused by onions. He expects that the onions were contaminated by fecal matter from nearby livestock. This summer, Audacy reported on another outbreak linked to fresh vegetables – a salmonella outbreak in cucumbers traced back to untreated canal water in Florida.
While hamburger meat used to be implicated in most outbreaks, Marler said that fresh fruits and vegetables are actually linked to them more often in recent years. Regarding listeria in particular, Gounder said that things that come in contact with contaminated food can become cross-contaminated – Marler Clark has even handled a listeria case linked to peaches.
“It could be from other foods, it could be equipment or surfaces that were contaminated. We find listeria in the soil and water,” said Gounder. “So a lot of different ways it could get into a frozen waffle (for example),” she added, referring to the recent listeria outbreak in waffles.
Audacy reported on that “massive recall affecting more than 500 varieties of frozen waffles,” from TreeHouse Foods earlier this month. That company sells waffles to Target, Walmart, Aldi, and more.
A few days before that report, we covered another large-scale recall linked to possible listeria contamination that impacted hundreds of ready-to-eat meals sold by the company BrucePac across the U.S. at stores like Target, Trader Joe’s, and Walmart. In July, before the Boar’s Head recall was announced, Audacy also reported on a chicken recall linked to listeria.
This bacterial illness can cause fever, muscle aches, tiredness, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, seizures and death, as Audacy has previously reported. It is especially dangerous for people over age 65, immunocompromised people and pregnant people. In pregnant people, listeria can cause pregnancy loss or the birth of a baby battling a life-threatening infection.
Marler Clark provided details in its press release about three deaths linked to the Boar’s Head outbreak
Robert Hamilton, 73, consumed liverwurst purchased on July 1 at a store in Hicksville New York. By July 12, he was experiencing weakness, stomach pains, diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite and a change in mental status and was admitted to the ICU at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, N.Y. Though he was administered multiple antibiotics he did not survive the listeria infection.
Robert Ohly, 89, regularly consumed liverwurst purchased at a Kroger’s store in Tennessee. After experiencing worsening conditions over a span of weeks, he was hospitalized at Cumberland Medical Center. There, he tested positive for listeria and fell into a coma before dying on Aug. 18.
Linda Dorman, 74, consumed liverwurst purchased June 24, 2024, at Martin’s Super Market in Maryland. By July 3 she was having trouble breathing and she was transported via ambulance to the emergency department at Christiana Hospital the following day. She also fell into a coma after being diagnosed with listeria and died on July 6.
Marler noted that most of the deaths were linked to liverwurst, a product more popular among older customers. Deli meat consumption can be a risk for populations vulnerable to listeria outbreaks, such as those over age 65.
Gounder also said that the increase in listeria reports may be due to the fact that testing has improved.
“It used to be we might not have been aware or known what made you sick. Now we can actually test, detect and tell you what made you sick,” she said.
For those at risk who want to eat deli meat, cooking them to 165°F or until steaming hot should cut down the risk. This method could also be used for pasteurized soft cheeses and deli-sliced cheeses. Freezing and refrigeration, however, will not kill the bacteria that causes listeria infections.
According to the Marler Clark law firm, an estimated 1,600 people get listeriosis each year in the U.S. and about 260 die from it. Food industries are expected to comply with regulations for preventing listeria contamination.