Fact check: Photo purporting to show Oscar Mayer's pumpkin spice bologna is altered

The claim: An image shows Oscar Mayer’s pumpkin spice bologna

With autumn in full swing, the pumpkin spice phenomenon has made its annual comeback in grocery stores, coffee shops and social media feeds. 

The demand for pumpkin spice has skyrocketed over the years. The popular fall flavor, which is made from a combination of common spices such as cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, has been found in cereal, Pop-Tarts, Spam, toilet paper and ramen. 

Now, some social media users claim bologna from Oscar Mayer has been added to the list of controversial pumpkin spice products. 

“This madness must stop!” reads the caption of an image of purported pumpkin spice bologna that accumulated more than 1,000 shares since it was shared to Facebook on Oct. 26 by the page Food Memes.

Some users in the comments expressed disgust at the idea, while others said they'd try it.

Similar versions of the claim have been shared by other Facebook and Twitter users and meme pages. 

But pumpkin spice-flavored bologna from Oscar Mayer is not a real product, and the hoax has circulated online for years. 

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The Facebook user and page could not be reached for comment.

Image is fake

Pumpkin spice bologna is not an authentic product offered by Oscar Mayer, according to Kraft Heinz spokeswoman Stephanie Peterson. The image used to make the claim is manipulated.

The photo was altered using a real image of the meat company’s Jalapeño Bologna product. A user changed the color of the meat to orange and added the fake label reading, “Pumpkin Spice Bologna made with chicken & pork & pumpkin & cinnamon.” 

In September 2019, ABC 10 News San Diego reported that the photo is a years-old hoax. Similarly, news outlet WUSA9 added the bologna to its list of fake pumpkin spice products, which include other fictitious items such as pumpkin spice Gatorade, Doritos and Skittles. 

Pumpkin spice fanatics won’t find fall-themed bologna from Oscar Mayer on the grocery shelves, but you can pick up pumpkin spice salad, gum, pudding, wine and cream cheese, among other products, according to food and recipe website Delish. 

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Our rating: Altered

Based on our research, we rate ALTERED an image claiming to show pumpkin spice bologna from Oscar Mayer. The photo was manipulated using an image of the company's jalapeño flavored bologna. The hoax has been circulating online for years and has been previously debunked.  

Our fact-check sources: 

• Stephanie Peterson, Nov. 1, Email exchange with USA TODAY
• Oscar Mayer, accessed Nov. 1, Cold Cuts
• Oscar Mayer, accessed Nov. 1, Jalapeño Bologna 16 oz
• ABC 10 San Diego, Sept. 12, 2018, Fact or Fiction: Pumpkin spice bologna? 
• WUSA9, Oct. 6, 2017, Verify: Pumpkin Spice Products - What's Real and What's Not
• Delish, Sept. 16, 2016, Can You Tell The Real Insane Pumpkin Spice Products From The Fake Ones?

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Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.