Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:
Question: The marquee at the Ingles Markets grocery store near my home proclaims, “We proudly serve Boar’s Head” products. Given that listeria outbreaks linked to Boar’s Head products killed 10 people in 2024 and sickened 60 more across 19 states, and that federal inspections continue to find sanitary violations at Boar’s Head plants in 2025 — including mold, water leaks, dirty equipment and rooms, meat debris stuck on walls and equipment, various bugs, employees who didn’t wash their hands, and puddles of blood on the floor — why does Ingles so prominently say it is “proud” to serve Boar’s Head to its customers? Did Boar’s Head pay for the marquee?
My answer: Man, what a nitpicker. I mean, who among us has not splashed some meat debris on the wall on occasion? Let he who is without meat on the walls cast the first stone, I say.
Real answer: Not surprisingly, Black Mountain-based Ingles Markets did not respond to my email queries on this one.
I did get a response from the communications company that represents Boar’s Head, although the spokesperson didn’t directly answer the reader’s questions.
“Boar’s Head has a 120-year history of manufacturing high-quality, delicious products that consumers can enjoy with confidence,” the company spokesperson said. “Over the course of the past year-plus, we have continued to build on our standards by making significant investments in food safety technologies and implementing a series of leading-edge protocols and practices across our organization and our facilities.”
The spokesperson noted that Boar’s Head has published extensive information about its food safety programs on its website, https://boarshead.com/foodsafety.
One part of that reads: “Sanitation is a cornerstone of our food safety commitment. Our facilities undergo scrupulous daily cleaning and sanitation processes, with hours each day dedicated to a top-to-bottom cleanup and sanitation of our manufacturing equipment, surfaces and plant environments. Employees adhere to strict hygiene protocols, donning extensive protective equipment, including gloves, boots, aprons, hair nets, hard hats and face coverings, in addition to frequent handwashing and boot cleaning to ensure a clean environment.”
The company also regularly tests equipment for cleanliness.
The reader is correct that Boar’s Head sanitation woes continued into 2025. As PBS reported last August, “The Boar’s Head deli meat plant at the heart of last year’s deadly food poisoning outbreak is set to reopen in the coming months, company officials said. But recent inspections at Boar’s Head sites in three states documented sanitation problems similar to those that led to the listeria contamination that killed 10 people and sickened dozens.”
The company’s plant in Jarratt, Virginia, generated the most attention, leading to Boar’s Head suspending operations there in 2024.
“Boar’s Head permanently stopped making liverwurst and recalled more than 7 million pounds of deli products,” PBS reported, noting that USDA officials had “thoroughly reviewed” the plant and lifted the forced suspension on July 18. That facility was found to be in full compliance with the USDA.
“And yet, documents obtained by the Associated Press through a Freedom of Information request show that Boar’s Head plants in Arkansas, Indiana and elsewhere in Virginia were flagged for the same kinds of sanitation problems that led to the outbreak, with the most recent report in June,” PBS reported.
As far as whether Boar’s Head pays for marquee space with Ingles, the spokesperson said she would have “no further comment beyond the statement.”
My Google AI search on the topic turned up an 2012 Ad Age magazine article that detailed “How Boar’s Head Became a Deli Meat Beast.” The Google AI summary states, “Yes, Boar’s Head provides an advertising allowance to grocery retailers as part of their business agreements, which can be used for in-store promotions and potentially external marquees.”
Question: Thought this article, “WM Now Accepts To-Go Cups in Curbside Recycling,” from November 2025 to be of interest. Are the Asheville collectors going to allow the paper and plastic cups in their pickups?
My answer: My question is do the local collectors recycle meat scraps from the wall? Asking for a friend…
Real answer: I sent this question to Abe Lawson, president of Woodfin’s Curbside Management which handles most of the region’s recycling and is commonly known as Curbie. FCC Environmental handles residential garbage and a lot of recycling pickups, but Curbie processes all the materials and ships them out for reuse. (The article the reader sent refers to Waste Management.)
Lawson had good news on the cup front.
“This is something that we are really excited about as well,” Lawson told me via email. “We have recently made some changes to our internal recycling processes and can now accept to-go cups.”
I hate to admit this, but I’ve been tossing these kinds of cups into my recycling for years. Sorry about that, Abe.
But anyhoo, back to his message.
“This is true of paper, plastic, and metal cups,” Lawson said. “The industry has been moving away from Styrofoam and polystyrene cups and toward polypropylene, PET, paper, and aluminum cups.”
PET cups are made of Polyethylene Terephthalate, a strong plastic and a type of polyester.
“We have added some additional processing equipment and worked with downstream partners to be able to properly recycle these,” Lawson said of the range of cups.
Update on hunting seasons in Bent Creek: I recently fielded an Answer Man question about hunting being allowed in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest, and I noted that deer season ran through Jan. 1. A reader/hunter reminded me that small game seasons go on longer, so those using the forest should be aware.
“While you’re correct about the deer hunting season, the season for small game is significantly longer — Oct. 13 to Feb. 28 for gray squirrel, for instance,” the reader told me. “There is also a spring turkey season for people who really enjoy frustration.”
Turkey season (for male or bearded turkeys only) runs from April 11 through May 9. Seasons for raccoon, opossum, rabbit, quail, grouse and bobcat run through Feb. 28. You can find out more here.
So be alert out there, share the forest and continue to wear orange!
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The post Answer Man: Ingles still ‘proud to serve’ Boar’s Head meats? Paper and plastic cups now acceptable in recycling? appeared first on Asheville Watchdog.
