That doesn’t mean they are organ meats. Turkey, chicken, ham, pastrami, etc. Not organ meats.
Granted completely.
But I thought the operative issue with BH was contaminated ground-up critter bits, not specifically ground-up organ meat. Although liverwurst is indeed organ meat, the liver-ness or generic organ-ness isn’t what caused the problem AFAIK.
So it’s unclear (at least to me) which part of @needscoffee’s “organ meat mashed with fat” was the core intent of @Dewey_Finn’s response. Was it the “organ” or the “ground-up [whatever] mashed with fat.”
You’re quite right to question the former while IMO I’m also right to reinforce the latter. Not that it greatly matters to me; just trying to clarify.
The very wurst quality control… 
In most cases, Boars Head is the best available.
It was one plant out of about a dozen or so.
This is partially correct, in that of course it varies by your local food provider (and of course, that could change if the let through any more grocery chain mergers happen, a non-zero risk).
In my area, the two major mega marts (Kroger and Safeway) are split. Safeway has Deitz and Watson, Kroger has Boar’s Head. Personally, I almost never buy deli meats at a grocery store, both due to cost and quality, but I’d have put them both at near parity when I have bought, and both at least somewhat better than whatever the default store option was otherwise.
And that’s leaving out going to a bespoke deli, or other specialty store.
So if someone feels Boar’s Head is the best, and may or may not (smaller towns, fewer specialty options) have options to source elsewhere, then yes, that gives BH an advantage in retaining business.
But one of the points of a “Premium” brand is that you don’t let things like this happen. Sure, that’s (as been pointed out in this very thread) always been far from 100% true, but it does do lingering damage to the brand, and the effects may last years, even if they recover.
Which is one of the reasons I suggested in the same post you quoted in part, that:
As an example, from PBS:
The Jarratt plant had a troubled history. Government inspectors found 69 instances of “noncompliance” at the facility over the last year, including instances of mold, insects, liquid dripping from ceilings and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment.
Again, if I were a lawyer representing those injured, I’d love to have the details behind those words read aloud in open court in front of a jury. And if that does happen, I fully expect additional damage to the “premium” nature of the brand.
Pretty much everything I’ve heard about this blames it on deregulation, and trusting the meat industry to police themselves. That, if not for such deregulation, this would have been caught earlier and could have been corrected. And that, because of this, a whole lot of people have now lost their jobs, destroying the main industry of that town.
I pointed out that the company also has a responsibility, and that it shouldn’t just be blamed on the previous president. And I do think it would be best the market did punish that company.
Absent regulations being reestablished, only market pressures will ensure they don’t keep cutting whatever corners led to this.
So, no. I won’t be buying from them.
Sorry. Pretty much ground up whatever with fat. I thought that’s what all deli meats were.
… seems relevant.
I don’t/won’t buy it because it’s too damn expensive! $8-10/lb is what I’ll pay for a ribeye, but not sliced sandwich meat.
Most of the supermarkets around here carry at least two brands, BH & either a house brand or another name (which may be the Albertson’s or Ahold or ___ brand). BH is $2-3 more per pound than the other brand; while I’ve never done a blind taste test I have had BH in a sandwich from a deli; IOW, not a noticeable taste difference. I just won’t pay 20-25% premium for the same thing. Deli meat isn’t good for you & I don’t eat a lot of it, not sure if 2% less unhealthy really matters.
I wish BH was only $8-10 per lb!! That would be a steal. Around here it’s typically $12.99-$15.99 per lb depending on what you get.
Are those really current prices for that cut where you live?
$16.99 (US) a pound here in Colorado Springs for any non-formed BH beef deli selection (Corned beef, roast beef, pastrami), and generally around $14.99 for their turkey products.
Of course, sales on deli beef (very rare) may take $2 or so a pound off, and turkey (more common) get maybe $3-4 a pound discount.
But otherwise, I’m totally with @Gatopescado - I can buy a decent steak for far less most of the time.
I got Ribeyes for $7.99/lb a few days ago, on sale.
Just bought 1/2lb of their Bold PitCraft Slow Smoked Turkey Breast for sandwiches. It’s been a favorite since a deli clerk in Santa Fe recommended it to me several years ago. If I go missing, you’ll know why.
Back in the 90’s I was tangentially involved in a product recall that eventually pulled fresh milk off the shelves in something like 13 states.
The difference between now and 100 years ago is that back then food processors were small and had a limited distribution area. You could have contaminated food produced at one plant, and it might only be sold in a limited area.
Thanks to improvements in transportation it’s possible to move even fresh food all over the country from a single plant. That’s generally a good thing until you get one bad batch of milk from a dairy or one single tainted batch of liver from a stockyard and it ends up contaminating an entire production run. Then you not only have a contaminated shipment, but contaminated equipment and you have to shut the entire line down, clean and sterilize it, and you have a black eye all over the country.
Picked up a couple of porterhouse steaks for $10.99/lb. today. Rarely see prices like that around here. A rump cap to make picanha steaks costs freaking $9.99/lb. for a cow’s ass.
im good i get my wurst at aldis lol or Kroger brand from one of their satellite stores here in ca
Used to get farmer johns but since the family sold out they don’t have the footprint they used to around here
I have a half pound of BH sliced roast beef in the fridge. $15.99/lb. I’m not worried about it making me sick. I get it regularly.
I’ve never noticed their liverwurst sold out here. I haven’t looked for it, either, but this area isn’t known for lunch meats like you’d see in the midwest or east coast. I’ve had trouble finding corned beef at some supermarkets here.
I was at Ralph’s today and checked out the deli to see if they carried anything but Boar’s Head. It’s BH only and several customers were lined up at the counter. Dental issues are keeping me from eating sandwiches at the moment but when I’m fully recovered I imagine I’ll buy BH again. I’ve always figured processed deli meat is kind of gross anyway when you think about it so this latest scandal will be filed in my brain with all the other food issues I don’t want to know about.
It is basically liverwurst at one plant, so pretty safe to eat other BH products.