How a local restaurant is handling Boar’s Head listeria outbreak

Multiple people have been hospitalized after a listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meat, and places in Southwest Florida that serve Boar’s Head are on top of it.

The Bagel Factory in Fort Myers has worked with the same Boar’s Head representative since they opened 30 years ago.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nine people, including one Floridian, have gotten sick and died from the tainted meats, in the largest listeria outbreak since 2011.

Of the nine deaths caused by the outbreak, one occurred in Florida.

The CDC has reported that deli meat from Boar’s Head is responsible for at least 57 hospitalizations in the United States, prompting a recall of over 7 million pounds of its product.

• READ MORE: Listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head raises concern for Publix shoppers

CBS News obtained documents that show federal inspectors flagged dozens of violations at the Boar’s Head plant in Virginia, where mold, mildew and insects were repeatedly found.

Lauren Lukasik and her parents own The Bagel Factory.

“My parents opened this in 1995, and my mom was always a big fan of Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, so since day one, that’s that’s all we’ve had, is Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, and I love it,” said Lauren Lukasik.

Her dad Mark Lukasik said it was a quick and easy fix when the Boar’s Head rep reached out.

“It’s my understanding that all of the products that have been recalled came out of one particular plant, right? And that’s where our sweet sliced ham came from,” said Mark Lukasik. “And as soon as they said, ‘We need it back’, they came and picked it up, and then we asked, we said, ‘Can we have a different type of ham?’ and he brought us a different type.”

WINK News spoke with EMS physician Dr. Benjamin Abo about his concerns.

“We’re always going to have things like recalls and things like that, so I would, of course, be careful with that. Me being a kid that grew up in South Jersey, especially used to my deli sandwiches and all, I’m still going to take this seriously, but I’m going to, you know, use sources that are trustworthy. I’m going to cook what I can to heat things up and just follow the recommendations from the CDC,” said Abo.

Abo told me pre-sliced meats have a lot higher risk of carrying the bacteria listeria.

For slabs of meat, it’s a lot harder to pick up the bacteria, but something you can always do is get steaming hot sandwiches because cooking can kill the bacteria.