Boar’s Head Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Deli Meat Recall Due To Listeria Contamination

A Brooklyn woman has filed a class action lawsuit in wake of a recent Boars Head deli meat recall, stating that the company engaged in deceptive and misleading marketing practices by failing to disclose the potential risk of listeria food poisoning that may be caused by its products. 

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Rita Torres in the United States District Court Eastern District of New York on August 1, seeking to certify a nationwide class, as well as a New York subclass, representing all consumers who purchased the recalled deli meat. Boar’s Head Provisions Co. Inc. is named as the sole defendant in the filing.

Boar’s Head Deli Meat Recall and Expansion

This lawsuit comes in response to a Boar’s Head deli meat recall issued on July 26, following the discovery that deli meats distributed nationwide were contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, which can cause serious health risks for consumers.

On July 30 Boar’s Head expanded the deli meat recall to include 7 million additional pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products. Retailers were advised to immediately stop selling and sanitize the shelfs, while consumers were advised to immediately discard the recalled Boar’s head deli meat.

Listeria monocytogenes infections can cause serious and sometimes fatal food poisoning in young children, frail or elderly people, posing a particularly serious risk for those with weakened immune systems. However, even healthy individuals can suffer side effects, including short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Among pregnant women, listeria monocytogenes infections can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

The contamination problems emerged after the Maryland Department of Health discovered Listeria monocytogenes in an unopened sample of liverwurst, leading the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to announce the initial recall of Boar’s Head Deli Meat on the same day. However, officials stated that additional testing was required to determine whether the sample tested by Maryland was linked to the ongoing outbreak.

While announcing the expansion, investigators indicate they have confirmed the Maryland sample was part of this outbreak.

As a result, the recall was expanded to include 71 different products produced between May 10, 2024, and July 29, 2024, under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names. These items include meat intended for slicing at retail delis as well as some packaged meat and poultry products sold at retail locations. These products have “sell by” dates ranging from 29-JUL-2024 through 17-OCT-2024.

It is believed that some of these products have been shipped to the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama.

To date, at least 34 illnesses have been reported across 13 states in the outbreak — including 33 hospitalizations and two deaths.

Boar’s Head Recall Lawsuit

Torres’ complaint argues that the recall was designed to exclude the majority of consumers from receiving a refund due to the requirement of having to retain the products, while the recall announcement instructed consumers to dispose of the tainted deli meat. The lawsuit also alleges that Boar’ Head has made little to no effort to make the recall widely known to the vast majority of consumers.

According to the lawsuit, the packaging on the label of the impacted products fails to disclose the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, leading consumers to believe that the products were safe to eat. Failing to disclose the product is contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes is deceptive and misleading, Torre’s complaint claims.

“Defendant is using a marketing and advertising campaign that omits from the packaging that the Products contain Listeria monocytogenes.” the lawsuit states. “This omission leads a reasonable consumer to believe they are not purchasing a product that contains Listeria monocytogenes when in fact they are purchasing a product contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.”

Torres presents claims of violations of New York consumer protection laws, and seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.