Cold Cuts Are a Mixed Nutritional Bag (and Watch Out for Recalls)

How safe are your cold cuts? The answer has often been: “Not very.”

While they can be a tasty source of protein and can be eaten on the go, they are also high in fat and salt. And keep an eye out for the occasional but scary recalls for things that can cause anything from an allergic reaction to listeriosis and, in rare cases, death.

On Dec. 20, 2024, Ralph’s Packing Company, a Perkins, Okla. establishment, recalled approximately 3,132 pounds of ready-to-eat pork and beef bologna products due to misbranding and an undeclared allergen, the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Services said. The USDA said the product may contain milk, a known allergen, which is not declared on the product label. The ready-to-eat pork and beef garlic bologna items were produced since September 2022 and may be frozen.

More dramatically, last August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recalled more than 7 million pounds of Boar’s Head liverwurst, ham, beef salami, bologna, and other products made at the firm’s Jarratt, Va., plant, which had sickened an unknown number of consumers and sent 43 to the hospitals in 13 states.

Recalls are nothing new. In 2022, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recalled more than 60 ready-to-eat meat products sold by Illinois’ Behrmann Meat and Processing, Inc. And back in 2004, one recall involved a whopping 27.4 million pounds of fresh sliced and packaged deli meats linked to 52 cases of listeriosis and seven deaths.

The risk is greatest for children, pregnant women, senior citizens, and people with an immune system weakened by an infection or chemotherapy.

To make cold cuts safer for everyone, store them in the fridge or freezer. For people at risk, before serving, heat them until they steam. “Hot cold cuts” may sound funny, but cooking helps inactivate lurking bugs. For more detailed questions, 888-MPHotline (1-888-874-6854), the 35-year-old toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, is open year-round Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. It’s one of the rare services where a live person answers callers’ individual, specific questions one-on-one in English or Spanish; recorded food-safety messages are also available 24 hours a day.

Once you’ve found a safe sandwich, deli is delicious. But is it nutritious?

Weighing the risk and benefits of cold cuts is a daily decision, depending on who you are, what you eat, and how you treat your food. Both the deli-sliced meats and cheeses and the packaged cold cuts sold in sandwich stores and at the counter in your local supermarket are high-protein, but also high-fat foods with lots of salt. Are you on a carb kick with no sodium restrictions? Just dig in. But if you’re on a carb-based low-fat diet with controlled sodium, the best bet may be low-fat, low-sat-fat, thin-sliced boiled ham or white-meat turkey. (At the supermarket, look for packaged meats labeled “low fat,” label-speak for no more than a gram of fat per serving.)

When choosing, count your servings carefully. Data for the long-running 45,000-man Health Professionals at Harvard’s School of Public Health has suggested that eating processed meats more than five times a week may raise a man’s risk of Type 2 adult-onset diabetes by nearly 50 percent. The solution, the Harvard study says, is moderation.

Now for a final twist: Mustard or mayonnaise? Mustard, the clear time-honored favorite, adds a subtle tang and depth to the flavors, while velvety mayonnaise provides a creamy base that enhances the richness of ham and Swiss, adding a touch of moisture without overpowering the delicate flavors. Naturally, each has its own nutrient profile. As a rule, one teaspoon of mustard has 10 calories, 111.4 mg sodium, and less than 1 mg fat, fiber, protein, vitamin C , iron, and calcium. A teaspoon of mayonnaise ups the calories to 82 and adds 9 grams fat, 5 mg cholesterol, with less than 1 gram sugar, protein, calcium, iron, and potassium

Taster’s choice.