There's that word again. "Listeria."

If you've thought to yourself "Wow, I'm seeing that word everywhere lately," you'd be exactly right. Unfortunately, the other word that's been attached to listeria is "outbreak."

We've been dealing with a two listeria problems and product recalls over the last short while, one of them involves vegetables that were sold at Walmart, Kroger, and Aldi and involves 13 states including Illinois. Luckily at this point, no one has died.

(Read more about the listeria-related vegetable recall here)

The other, this one connected to deli meats, has already killed two people, one from Illinois and the other from New Jersey, and has resulted in a massive recall of deli meat from one of the most popular brands of deli meats and cheeses.

Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...
Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...

A Few Days Back, Boar's Head Issued A Nationwide Recall Of 207,000 Pounds Of Ready-To-Eat Products--Then Decided On Tuesday That A Lot More Needed To Be Added To The Recall List

How much more? Well, they went from the initial 207,000 pounds to 7 million pounds of meat that needs to be recalled.

In the first recall of 207,000 pounds, all of the recalled products originated at the Boar's Head Jarratt, Virginia facility.

On Tuesday of this week, Boar's Head, after learning that their Strassburger Brand Liverwurst had been linked to the outbreak, decided to recall all meat and poultry products made at its Jarratt facility, which brings us to the 7 million pounds number.

Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...
Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...

As Of 5 Days Ago, The Deli Meat Listeria Outbreak Has Made 34 People Sick In 13 States, Resulting In 33 Hospitalizations And Two Deaths

According to the CDC, in addition to Illinois, these are the states that have reported listeria:

  • Georgia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Missouri
  • Minnesota
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Pennsylvania
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin

As you might imagine, the list of recalled products is really extensive, and it would take far more space than I have here to list them all. Click here to be taken to the USDA's FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service) webpage to see the full list, along with product labels.

Here's a good explanation of why you'll really want to avoid listeria:

LOOK: 20 American foods that raise eyebrows outside of the US

Stacker compiled a list of 20 unusual and uniquely American foods that might raise eyebrows outside the U.S.

Gallery Credit: Charlotte Barnett

More From WROK 1440 AM / 96.1 FM