A Boar's Head deli in Virginia linked to an outbreak of deadly food poisoning has repeatedly violated federal regulations, including mold, insects, liquid dripping from the ceiling and meat and grease residue on partitions, floors and equipment, in accordance with newly released records.
According to documents released under a federal Freedom of Information Act request, state inspectors have logged 69 cases of “non-compliance” with federal regulations over the past 12 months, including several in recent weeks.
Inspections on the factory have been suspended and it’s going to remain closed “until the facility can demonstrate its ability to produce safe products,” U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said in an announcement Thursday. Boar's Head officials had halted production on the Jarratt, Virginia, factory in late July.
The plant is linked to the deaths of at the very least nine people and the hospitalization of about 50 others in 18 states. All became ailing with listeria after eating sausage products made by Boar's Head Provisions Co. Inc. The company recalled greater than 7 million kilos of products last month after tests confirmed that listeria bacteria in Boar's Head products was making people sick.
Between August 1, 2023, and August 2, 2024, inspectors found “heavily discolored meat deposits” and “meat mist on the walls and large chunks of meat on the floor.” They also documented flies “flying in and out of the curing bins” and “black mold spots” on a ceiling. One inspector described pools of blood on the ground and “a rancid odor in the cooler.” According to the documents, plant staff were repeatedly told they weren’t meeting requirements.
“I find it disgusting and disgraceful,” said Garshon Morgenstein, whose 88-year-old father, Gunter, died on July 18 from a listeria infection traced to Boar's Head liver sausage. “I'm just more shocked that this was allowed to happen.”
The plant was inspected by Virginia state authorities at the side of the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service. When problems were identified, Boar's Head “took corrective action in accordance with FSIS regulations,” officials said. According to essentially the most recent available records, no enforcement actions were taken against Boar's Head between January and March.
The documents, first reported by CBS News, didn’t include test results confirming listeria on the plant. The bacteria thrive on floors, partitions and drains, in cracks and crevices, and hard-to-clean parts of food processing equipment. Pests like flies can easily spread the bacteria throughout a factory, and the germ can survive in biofilms – thin, slimy collections of bacteria which might be difficult to eradicate.
Representatives for Boar's Head didn’t reply to a request for comment from The Associated Press, but a spokesperson told CBS that the corporate regrets the impact of the recall and makes food safety its highest priority. On its website, the corporate said all issues raised by government inspectors were immediately corrected.
Barbara Kowalcyk, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University, said the records raise quite a few warning flags.
“I wonder why the company’s management and regulators have not taken further action,” she said.
Donald Schaffner, a food science and safety expert at Rutgers University who reviewed the inspection documents, said reports of condensation throughout the factory are concerning since it is a known risk factor for listeria.
“The fact that they keep having the same problems several weeks apart is an indication that they are really struggling to keep up with hygiene,” Schaffner said.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1,600 people within the United States change into ailing with listeria annually and about 260 people die from it. Those most vulnerable are people over 65, pregnant women, and folks with weakened immune systems.
Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer who has sued several firms over food poisoning, said the conditions described within the inspection reports were the worst he had seen in three many years.
Garshon Morgenstein said his father bought Boar's Head products due to company's repute.
“For the rest of my life, every time I see or hear the name Boar's Head, I will think of my father's death,” he said.
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