Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, delicatessens, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in sandwiches or on a tray. They can be purchased canned, pre-sliced (usually in vacuum packs), or they can be sliced to order, most often in delicatessens and charcuteries. Lunch meats are processed meats designed for convenience. The preservatives added to extend the shelf life have been increasingly scrutinized due to potential links to certain diseases. In the US, '' Listeria'' infection is possible and has resulted in additional guidelines from the CDC for the elderly.

Types

* Bresaola * Chicken breast * Chicken loaf (also known as chicken roll) * Corned beef * Cotechino * Dutch loaf * Ham ** Baked ** Boiled ** Chipped chopped ** Cooked ** ''Éisleker'' ** '' Jamón'': ''serrano'' or ''ibérico'' ** Presunto ** Prosciutto ** Smoked * Head cheese ** Salceson * Meatloaf ** Ham and cheese loaf ** Olive loaf ** Pepper loaf ** Pimento loaf **

Spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

d luncheon loaf ** Veal loaf * Mortadella * Pork roll *

Roast beef Roast beef is a dish of beef that is roasted, generally served as the main dish of meal. In the Anglosphere, roast beef is one of the meats often served at Sunday lunch or dinner. Yorkshire pudding is a standard side dish. Sliced roast beef ...

* Roast lamb * Roast

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

Sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

s **'' Bierwurst'' or ''beerwurst'' ** Blood tongue (''Zungenwurst'') **

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, Polony ***

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

** Braunschweiger *** '' Brühwurst'' *** '' Mettwurst'' ** Chorizo **

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

** '' Extrawurst'' ** '' Gelbwurst'' ** '' Jagdwurst'' ** '' Krakowska'' (

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

-style pork sausage) ** '' Kabanos'' ** '' Myśliwska'' **

Liverwurst Liverwurst, leberwurst, or liver sausage is a kind of sausage made from liver (food), liver. It is eaten throughout Europe, as well as North and South America, notably in Argentina and Chile. Some liverwurst varieties are spreadable. Liverwurst ...

** '' Prasky'' ** Morcilla ** Salami *** Alpino *** Capocollo *** Finocchiona *** Italian-style ***

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish-style *** Pepperoni *** '' Soppressata'' ** Salchichón ** '' Saucisson sec'' (dry, maturing, salty, savoury-tasting French salami) ** Sausagemeat

stuffing Stuffing, filling, or dressing is an edible mixture, often composed of herbs and a Starch#Food, starch such as bread, used to fill a cavity in the preparation of another food item. Many foods may be stuffed, including poultry, seafood, and v ...

** Summer sausage ** '' Teewurst'' * Smoked meat ** Montreal-style smoked meat ** Pastrami *

Tongue The tongue is a Muscle, muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for chewing and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper s ...

* Turkey breast *

Spam Spam most often refers to: * Spam (food), a consumer brand product of canned processed pork of the Hormel Foods Corporation * Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages ** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages ...

and Treet

Health

Most pre-sliced lunch meats are higher in fat, nitrates, and

sodium Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...

than those that are sliced to order, as a larger exposed surface requires stronger preservatives. As a result, processed meats may significantly contribute to incidence of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

and diabetes, even more so than red meat. A prospective study following 448,568 people across Europe, showed a positive association between processed meat consumption and mortality caused by cardiovascular disease and cancer. Similarly, a prospective study in the US following half a million people flagged a similar association between death and increased processed meat consumption. The World Cancer Research Fund International guidelines on cancer prevention recommend avoiding all processed meats.

Safety

Deli lunch meat is occasionally infected by '' Listeria''. In 2011, the US

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

(US CDC) advises that those over age 50 reheat lunch meats to "steaming hot" and use them within four days. In 2021, the US CDC reported another wave of ''Listeria'' outbreak. The final investigation notice from 2023 advises that "people who are pregnant, aged 65 or older, or have a weakened immune system" reheat deli products to the aforementioned temperature in order to "kill any germs", even when there is no ongoing outbreak.

References

External links

* {{Sausage Dried meat Meat Sandwiches World cuisine Lunch Types of food Sliced foods

Types

Health

Safety

See also

References

External links