U.S. government health inspectors found unsanitary conditions at several Boar’s Head meat factories last year, several official documents show, and not just at the plant that had to close indefinitely last September after being linked to cases of infection. by listeria.
The documents recently made public deal with visits to factories in New Castle, Indiana; Forrest City (Arkansas); and Petersburg (Virginia). Reports say that for six years things such as grease residue dripping on equipment and walls, liquid falling from the ceiling directly onto food, mold and insects have been found.
In a report from May 2024, an inspector even mentions that he saw “widespread dirt” at the Indiana plant.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the inspection documents in response to freedom of information requests from and other news groups.
The problems mentioned at those three factories are similar to those seen at the Jarratt, Virginia, plant, which was the one that closed due to listeria cases. Those problems include:
- Equipment stained by “remains of meat”, in 2019.
- “Residues of dried meat from the previous day” that were seen as “dark and smelly” in 2020.
- A door covered in “meat juice and grime” in 2021.
- Green mold and peeling paint in 2022.
- Puddles of “blood, dirt and garbage” in 2024.
Such conditions are “very alarming,” says Thomas Gremillion, director of food policy at the advocacy group Consumer Federation of America.
“It’s understandable why some people choose not to eat these types of deli meats,” he said, “and companies like Boar’s Head need to work to earn the public’s trust.”
Boar’s Head responded to requests for comment in an email Monday, saying the three factories noted in the USDA documents “do not meet the company’s high standards.”
The company added that the factories that continue to operate do so under regular USDA supervision, and that the Florida-based company has for decades been a premier supplier of cheeses and deli meats with “excellence that shows in every bite.”
Other health reports made public by the USDA from a Boar’s Head factory in Michigan do not show the same problems as in the three aforementioned.
In September, Boar’s Head stopped producing liver sausage and closed its Jarratt, Virginia, factory after 60 people in 19 states became ill with listeria after consuming the product. Of those people, 10 died from the infection.
Boar’s Head also issued a recall notice for more than 7 million pounds of other deli meats that were on sale nationwide, of which 2.6 million pounds were returned, according to USDA data.
The meat company faces several lawsuits over the listeria outbreak.
What I’ve seen in the reports “saddens me and makes me angry,” said Garrett Dorman, whose mother Linda was among the people who died after eating Boar’s Head liver sausage.
Dorman, who is suing the company, says his mother had cancer and sausage was one of the few foods she could eat.
“I really think Boar’s Head needs to reform all of their processes at all of their plants,” Dorman added via email. “You need to prioritize people’s well-being.”
Following the publication of the USDA reports, some lawmakers have criticized the agricultural agency for not taking action sooner despite what the inspections showed.
The USDA inspector general has already said that how the agency proceeded with the situation is being reviewed, and the Justice Department is investigating whether the situation warrants criminal charges of any kind.
USDA has also promised to adopt new measures to control possible listeria outbreaks in factories that prepare ready-to-eat foods, such as deli meats. Among those measures would be more widespread bacterial testing, increased inspections and greater review of how inspectors operate at the state level.
Meanwhile, Boar’s Head has said it is hiring someone in charge of “food safety culture,” according to Frank Yiannas, a former USDA official who currently works as a consultant for the food company.