Connect with us

Finance

Boar’s Head recall expands to include 7 million pounds of deli meat over listeria concerns

Published

on

A woman browses the meat aisle at a supermarket in Montebello, California, on May 15, 2024.

Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images

A recall of Boar’s Head products has expanded to include a whopping 7 million additional pounds of deli and poultry items in a deadly multistate outbreak of listeria infections.

As of Tuesday, 34 people have gotten sick across 13 states in the outbreak — including 33 hospitalizations and two deaths. The fatalities were a patient in Illinois and another in New Jersey.

Last week, the deli meat company had recalled more than 207,000 pounds of deli meat, including liverwurst and ham products, because they may contain the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes.

Boar’s Head has now expanded that recall, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced in a press release Tuesday.

The expansion includes 71 products — including meat intended for slicing at delis, and some packaged meat and poultry products —produced from May 10 to July 29 under the Boar’s Head and Old Country Brand names.

The products have “sell by” dates ranging from July 29 through Oct. 17 this year (view the recalled product labels here), and were distributed to retail locations nationwide, and some to Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama. 

Boar’s Head said in a statement on its website that it had initiated the recall after a liverwurst sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health had tested positive for listeria.

The Maryland Department of Health and Baltimore City Health Department collected an unopened liverwurst product from a retail store for further testing that determined the product sample “tested positive for the outbreak strain,” the USDA release said.

Boar’s Head said that the first voluntary recall was for its Strassburger Brand Liverwurst, and an additional nine products produced on the same production line at its Jarratt, Virginia, facility.

On Monday, the company said it learned from the USDA “that our Strassburger Brand Liverwurst has been linked to the national deli meat Listeria monocytogenes outbreak” — and as a result the recall was expanded to include all items produced at the Jarratt facility.

“We have also decided to pause ready-to-eat operations at this facility until further notice. As a company that prioritizes safety and quality, we believe it is the right thing to do,” the company said.

“No words can fully express our sympathies and the sincere and deep hurt we feel for the families that have suffered losses and others who endured illness,” the statement added.

People who bought the recalled products should throw them away or return them to the store, and also clean out their refrigerators as the bacteria can grow in cold temperatures and spread to other foods.

An investigation is underway by the FSIS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state public health partners. 

Listeria infection is a food borne bacterial illness, most commonly caused by eating improperly processed deli meats and unpasteurized milk products, according to the Mayo Clinic. It’s the third-leading cause of death from food poisoning in the U.S.

Symptoms usually appear within two weeks of eating contaminated food, and include fever, muscle aches, tiredness, stiff neck and confusion. In severe cases, the bacteria may cause a blood infection or meningitis. The infection is dangerous for those who are older, with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women.

The CDC estimates that around 1,600 people get listeriosis each year, and about 260 die. Most cases aren’t linked to outbreaks, but there are usually a few outbreaks in a given year.

Continue Reading

Finance

These are 3 big things we’re watching in the stock market this week

Published

on

A security guard works outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) before the Federal Reserve announcement in New York City, U.S., September 18, 2024. 

Andrew Kelly | Reuters

The stock market bounce last week showed once again just how dependent Wall Street has become on the whims of the White House.

Continue Reading

Finance

These U.S. consumer stocks face higher China risks

Published

on

Continue Reading

Finance

Apple iPhone assembly in India won’t cushion China tariffs: Moffett

Published

on

Street's biggest Apple bear says a production move to India is unrealistic

Leading analyst Craig Moffett suggests any plans to move U.S. iPhone assembly to India is unrealistic.

Moffett, ranked as a top analyst multiple times by Institutional Investor, sent a memo to clients on Friday after the Financial Times reported Apple was aiming to shift production toward India from China by the end of next year.

He’s questioning how a move could bring down costs tied to tariffs because the iPhone components would still be made in China.

“You have a tremendous menu of problems created by tariffs, and moving to India doesn’t solve all the problems. Now granted, it helps to some degree,” the MoffettNathanson partner and senior managing director told CNBC’s “Fast Money” on Friday. “I would question how that’s going to work.”

Moffett contends it’s not so easy to diversify to India — telling clients Apple’s supply chain would still be anchored in China and would likely face resistance.

“The bottom line is a global trade war is a two-front battle, impacting costs and sales. Moving assembly to India might (and we emphasize might) help with the former. The latter may ultimately be the bigger issue,” he wrote to clients.

Moffett cut his Apple price target on Monday to $141 from $184 a share. It implies a 33% drop from Friday’s close. The price target is also the Street low, according to FactSet.

“I don’t think of myself as the biggest Apple bear,” he said. “I think quite highly of Apple. My concern about Apple has been the valuation more than the company.”

Moffett has had a “sell” rating on Apple since Jan. 7. Since then, the company’s shares are down about 14%.

“None of this is because Apple is a bad company. They still have a great balance sheet [and] a great consumer franchise,” he said. “It’s just the reality of there are no good answers when you are a product company, and your products are going to be significantly tariffed, and you’re heading into a market that is likely to have at least some deceleration in consumer demand because of the macro economy.”

Moffett notes Apple also isn’t getting help from its carriers to cushion the blow of tariffs.

“You also have the demand destruction that’s created by potentially higher prices. Remember, you had AT&T, Verizon and T. Mobile all this week come out and say we’re not going to underwrite the additional cost of tariff [on] handsets,” he added. “The consumer is going to have to pay for that. So, you’re going to have some demand destruction that’s going to show up in even longer holding periods and slower upgrade rates — all of which probably trims estimates next year’s consensus.”

According to Moffett, the backlash against Apple in China over U.S. tariffs will also hurt iPhone sales.

“It’s a very real problem,” Moffett said. “Volumes are really going to the Huaweis and the Vivos and the local competitors in China rather than to Apple.”

Apple stock is coming off a winning week — up more than 6%. It comes ahead of the iPhone maker’s quarterly earnings report due next Thursday after the market close.

To get more personalized investment strategies, join us for our next “Fast Money” Live event on Thursday, June 5, at the Nasdaq in Times Square.

Continue Reading

Trending