Boar’s Head announced Friday it has indefinitely shut down a Virginia deli meat plant and discontinuing the liverwurst that’s linked to a deadly multi-state listeria outbreak that also sickened dozens.
In what it called a “dark moment” in the corporate’s history, Boar’s Head said in a Friday statement it’s indefinitely closing its plant in Jarratt, Virginia, where the liverwurst product connected to the outbreak was made.
The explanation for the contamination was a “specific production process” that only existed on the Jarratt facility, the corporate said.
“We regret and deeply apologize for the recent Listeria monocytogenes contamination in our liverwurst product. We understand the gravity of this case and the profound impact it has had on affected families,” the statement said.
“We’ve got made the difficult decision to indefinitely close this location, which has not been operational since late July 2024. It pains us to affect the livelihoods of a whole lot of hard-working employees,” the corporate said.
“We don’t take calmly our responsibility as considered one of the realm’s largest employers,” the statement continues. “But, under these circumstances, we feel that a plant closure is essentially the most prudent course. We are going to work to help each of our employees within the transition process.”
This 12 months’s liverwurst outbreak killed nine and hospitalized 57. Boar’s Head recalled its Strassburger Brand Liverwurst on July 25 over concerns it contained the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.
The CDC said the corporate was liable for the most important listeriosis outbreak since 2011, when greater than 30 people died from affected cantaloupe.
The recall was expanded to incorporate 7 million kilos of meat, which the corporate said was every item produced at the ability.
America Department of Agriculture on July 31 gave the Jarratt facility a notice of suspension.
In accordance with records from the USDA, the Virginia plant had dozens of violations that included reports of inspectors finding insects, mold and puddles of blood.
Department personnel logged 69 instances of noncompliance with federal regulations on the plant from Aug. 1, 2023, through Aug. 2, 2024, based on documents CBS News obtained through federal Freedom of Information Act requests.
In accordance with the documents, the Agriculture Department reported “heavy discolored meat construct up” on a hydraulic pump within the plant and on the motor of an inspection line on Aug. 8, 2023, and again reported “heavy meat buildup” on partitions of a room within the plant on June 10.
The presence of insects was also a problem on the plant, based on department.
Flies were found “entering into and out” of pickle vats on June 10, and “small flying gnat like insects were observed crawling on the partitions and flying across the room.” The department also reported a “regular line of ants” and “a presence of flying insects” in the identical room, based on the documents. Also reported on the identical day were “7 ladybugs, 1 beetle like insect, and 1 cockroach like insect.”
Boar’s Head said since its voluntary recall in late July, it has worked with the USDA and state government regulatory agencies and leading food safety experts to learn what went mistaken and make improvements.
Some increased measures, based on Boar’s Head, include: Appointing a latest chief food safety officer who will report on to the corporate’s president; launching a food safety council comprised of independent food safety experts; and creating an enhanced and companywide food safety and QA program, Boar’s Head said.
Gallup recently found that Americans’ faith in the federal government’s ability to offer protected food in its food supply has reached a record low since 1999.
