Boar’s Head Provisions announced Friday that it will indefinitely close its plant in southern Virginia, the epicenter of a listeria outbreak that has killed at least nine people and hospitalized 57 in 18 states, a measure that could cost hundreds of employees their jobs.
The Jarratt, Virginia, plant, closed since late July, had been cited repeatedly by Department of Agriculture inspectors last year for health and safety violations.
According to The Washington Post, federal inspectors notified plant officials of one or more “violations” on 57 separate days between Aug. 1, 2023, and July 27, 2024. The problems cited included “dirty” machinery, flies in pickle bins, “large accumulations of meat” on walls, blood in pools on the floor, and multiple instances of leaking pipes, clogged drains and heavy dust buildup in certain areas.
The company recalled more than seven million pounds of products in July after tests confirmed that listeria bacteria in its products was making people sick.
“We understand the seriousness of this situation and the profound impact it has had on the affected families. Comprehensive measures are being implemented to prevent such an incident from happening again,” the company said in a statement on Friday.
The company said that its internal investigation found that the cause of the contamination at the plant was due to a specific production process “that only existed at the Jarratt facility and was only used for liverwurst.” The company decided to “permanently suspend production of liverwurst.”
About 500 unionized workers will be affected by the decision, a spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents Jarratt employees, told the paper.
Donald Schaffner, a Rutgers food science and safety expert who reviewed the inspection documents, told that reports of condensation throughout the plant are concerning because it is a known risk factor for listeria.
“The fact that they are having the same problems over and over again within weeks of each other is an indication that they are really struggling to keep up with sanitation,” he said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), listeria infections cause about 1,600 illnesses and about 260 deaths each year in the country. People over 65, pregnant women or those with weakened immune systems are most vulnerable.
Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney who has sued companies over food poisoning outbreaks, said the conditions described in inspection reports were the worst he had seen in three decades.
Garshon Morgenstein said his father bought Boar’s Head products because of the company’s reputation. “For the rest of my life, I will have to remember my father’s death every time I see or hear the name Boar’s Head,” he said.
