This week, dozens of brands of frozen waffles were recalled due to possible contamination with the deadly Listeria bacteria.
It was the eighth time this month that American companies were forced to pull food products from shelves because of germs that cause food poisoning.
Experts warn that the food contamination problem is getting worse as the industry grows and supply chains become more complex.
For patients, infections can be life-changing.
Michael Silberman, 86, of Florida, contracted listeria earlier this year, causing brain swelling and seizures so severe that doctors had to sedate him for weeks.
Now he can only get around the house with a walker and is unable to drive, shop, shower or care for his wife Barbara, who suffers from arthritis.
He claims he contracted the virus after eating a sandwich containing sliced turkey made by Boar’s Head and that it was part of a major recall related to listeria.
Pictured above is Michael Silberman, 86, and his wife Barbara. Before contracting listeria, Mr. Silberman lived independently and was able to care for his wife.
Expectant mother April Bonham, from Texas, gave birth to her stillborn baby at 37 weeks and two days. Doctors later determined that the boy may have had listeria.
Silberman is suing the food giant, alleging that the meat caused a listeria infection that turned into meningitis and caused severe brain damage.
Your age makes you particularly vulnerable to listeria, but so does being pregnant and taking immunosuppressive medications because they block the body’s ability to fight the infection.
Expectant mother April Bonham, from Texas, was told at her 36-week scan that her daughter Olive was fine.
But at the ultrasound the following week, they were told their daughter had no heartbeat.
She was stillborn in the hospital on January 7, 2024 and her parents had no idea what happened.
Only after the tests came back was it learned that his death could have been caused by listeria.
Revealing her case, mother April said on TikTok: “I can’t stress how scary listeria is and there are no symptoms… when the mother is pregnant with the baby.” He wasn’t even sick.
“I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong… I still blame myself.”
She added: “Giving birth to my baby at 37 weeks and two days dead will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
She suffered few listeria symptoms the week before, saying only that she was so exhausted she was sleeping 19 hours a day before her 37-week scan.
The mother is not sure where she may have contracted listeria and said she stayed away from all deli meats, packaged foods and sushi, among others, throughout her pregnancy.
Ten deaths have been linked to the listeria outbreak associated with boar’s head meat and at least another 59 people were hospitalized in late September.
The CDC notes that “the actual number of people sick in this outbreak is likely higher than the number reported.”
People can become infected with listeria from contaminated food, and they can pick up the bacteria from water containing feces or poorly cleaned surfaces.
The bacteria can survive stomach acid and travel to the intestine, from where they can migrate into the bloodstream.
Pictured above is the Boar’s Head factory, where reports show there were bugs, mold and liquid dripping from the ceiling and onto pre-prepared food products.
Most healthy adults will start to feel sick a couple of days after consuming contaminated food.
It usually starts with flu-like symptoms (fever, muscle aches, or nausea) before progressing to vomiting and diarrhea.
Some people begin to feel sick weeks or months after the initial infection.
This is because listeria can become inactive under environmental stress, such as in nutrient-depleted water or in the presence of detergents.
In more severe cases, listeria can cause confusion, lightheadedness, loss of balance, and even seizures because it can spread to the central nervous system (CNS) and affect the brain.
In more severe cases, listeria can cause meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord, or a buildup of pus in the brain.
These can be deadly.
In their lawsuit, the couple says Silberman bought the turkey at his local Publix supermarket on July 15 of this year and ate it over the next few days in sandwiches.
Seven days later, however, he began to suffer a high fever and, two days later, the couple had to call emergency services.
Rescuers who responded to the scene said he had tachypnea or rapid breathing, an “altered mental status” and signs of sepsis.
He was rushed out of his Delray Beach home on a stretcher and taken to the emergency room, where doctors quickly diagnosed him with a listeria infection.
He spent two weeks in the hospital, where medical staff treated his brain swelling, cognitive complications and kidney failure.
He was then discharged to a rehabilitation center, where he had to spend another month working to rebuild the muscle mass he had lost due to the disease.
Only later did the couple link his illness to the removal of the turkey and Boar’s Head.
Boar’s Head announced its first meat recall on July 25 for its liverwurst, ten days after Silberman purchased the turkey meats.
The couple’s attorney, Jason Cornell, said WPTV: ‘He suffered sepsis, meningitis, encephalitis, very serious conditions, and was hospitalized for a month and does not remember it.
“He was thriving before this exposure, driving, working out at the gym, living at home, living independently… he can’t do any of that now.
“He has to walk with a walker, so we are very concerned about him and his ability to care for his wife.”
Trevor Craig, a food safety expert at Microbac Laboratories in Pennsylvania, told DailyMail.com that the United States may be seeing larger outbreaks because supply chains are now much larger than before.
This leads to more steps in processing and packaging the food, he said, increasing the risk of the item becoming contaminated.
He also said regulators may now be testing more products than before, which is leading to more recalls than before.
Darin Detwiler, a consumer food safety advocate, agreed, but added that this may also be due to a shift in consumer preferences toward fresher foods, which increases the risk of contamination.
The map above shows the number of states with Boar’s Head-related listeria contamination and the number of cases in each state.
CDC statistics suggest that about 1,600 people are hospitalized with listeria each year, mostly aged 65 or older, and about 260 die from the disease.
There are no exact figures on the number of cases and deaths per year caused by listeria related to food poisoning.
But this year’s figure appears to be the highest since at least 2011, when 30 people died and 147 were hospitalized after eating listeria-tainted cantaloupe sold by Jensen Farms in Colorado.
Boar’s Head recalled more than 7 million pounds of meat and poultry after listeria contamination was first detected in its liver sausages in July.
Records have since revealed that the Virginia-based factory where the meat was prepared was dirty and contained mold, insects and liquid dripping from the ceiling.
The couple is just the latest to sue Boar’s Head after the $1.2 billion company also faced legal action from the family of a Holocaust survivor who died after eating its liverwurst and a woman in Missouri who She fell “deathly ill” from her meat.
It comes after more than 10 million pounds of meat manufactured by a packaging company and sold in stores such as Trader Joe’s, Walmart and in children’s kitchens were also recalled this month over fears of listeria contamination.
A spokesperson for Publix, which is also named in the lawsuit, said, “It would be independent for us to comment on pending litigation.”
Boar’s Head did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
But a company spokesperson previously said: ‘We deeply regret the impact this recall has had on affected families. No words can fully express our sympathies and the sincere and deep sorrow we feel for those who have suffered loss or endured illness.’
The last major recall was in 2019, when Tyson Foods recalled 12 million pounds of chicken tenders, but this was due to possible metal fragments in the food, rather than bacterial contamination. No deaths or injuries were reported.