Deli Roast Beef vs Smoked Ham & Turkey Sub Kit: which is safer?
Oscar Mayer Smoked Ham & Turkey Sub Kit is the clear pick. Hormel Deli Roast Beef carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.
Hormel
Deli Roast Beef
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
ReportedPFAS in grease-resistant packaging coating
PossibleSodium nitrite as a preservative in cured meat
LikelySodium content and dietary effects
Our pick
Oscar Mayer
Smoked Ham & Turkey Sub Kit
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossiblePlastic film leaching under heating
ReportedPathogenic bacterial growth if seal compromised
Where these two actually differ
- We flag PFAS in grease-resistant packaging coating, Sodium nitrite as a preservative in cured meat, Sodium content and dietary effects and Migration of coating components into fatty meat on the Hormel and not on the Oscar Mayer.
- We flag Plastic film leaching under heating and Pathogenic bacterial growth if seal compromised on the Oscar Mayer and not on the Hormel.
- The Hormel is Paper/cardboard packaging with likely grease-resistant coating where the Oscar Mayer is plastic film wrapper; likely PE or PP film, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- The gap is 45 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Oscar Mayer is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the Hormel grade, at 45% confidence against 72%, because it discloses less.
Both products run through the same public rubric: materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →
More deli meat & cold cuts packaging: see the full ranking