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Ditch Deli Meat to Help Avoid Listeria Infection
A listeria outbreak linked to meat sliced at deli counters has killed two people and sickened dozens of others who have been hospitalized. The best way to avoid being affected by this listeria outbreak—and reduce your risk of cancer at the same time—is to avoid deli meats entirely.
Deli meats and cheeses, cold cuts, and hot dogs are among the foods commonly contaminated with listeria bacteria. Listeria bacteria—found in soil, water, and decaying animal or vegetable matter—is often transmitted to food when it is harvested, processed, prepared, packed, or transported. If you bring listeria-infected deli meat into your kitchen, you risk contaminating other food you prepare on the same surface or use the same knife.
The CDC estimates that listeriosis—listeria infection—is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the United States, sickening about 1,600 people a year and killing 260. Symptoms, which can start within two weeks, include fever, muscle aches, and tiredness. It is especially dangerous during pregnancy and can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature delivery. People with weakened immune systems and those at extremes of age (both newborns and those over 65) are also at greater risk for serious health problems.
Deli meats, aside from being a source of foodborne illnesses, are also a group 1 carcinogen according to the World Health Organization. Processed meats, including deli meats, cause colorectal cancer, which is one of the most common types of cancer in the United States, disproportionately affecting African Americans and on the rise among people under the age of 50.
Lower your risk of listeria infection—and colorectal cancer—by ditching the deli meat today.
