Boar’s Head plant linked to Listeria outbreak set to resume operations

Officials with Boar’s Head say they will reopen their deli meat production plant that was linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak in 2024.

The plant in Jarrett, VA, was closed down after dozens of people contracted Listeria infections in the summer of 2024 from meat products produced there. Ten people died. The plant was shut down in September in response to the outbreak. 

Several of the outbreak patients reported specifically eating Boar’s Head liverwurst. The company permanently ceased production of the product nationwide. Boar’s Head recalled more then 7 million pounds of meat products as a result of the outbreak.

In the wake of the outbreak, numerous reports were released showing that government inspectors found ongoing sanitation problems at the production plant that dated back years. Similar problems were found at the company’s plants in Forrest City, AR, New Castle, IN and Petersburg, VA. 

The inspection reports for the Jarrett, VA, plant showed meat and fat residue left on equipment and walls, drains blocked with meat products, beaded condensation on ceilings and floors, overflowing trash cans, and staff who didn’t wear protective hairnets and plastic aprons or wash their hands.

Boar’s Head officials said in 2024 that they “regret and deeply apologize” for the contamination and that “comprehensive measures are being implemented to prevent such an incident from ever happening again.”

This week USDA officials said they had “thoroughly reviewed” the plant and lifted the forced suspension on July 18.

“The facility is in full compliance of the guidelines and protocols set for the safe handling and production of food and the serious issues that led to suspension have been fully rectified,” officials with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said in an email Wednesday.

However, documents obtained by The Associated Press through a freedom of information request show that Boar’s Head plants in Arkansas, Indiana and elsewhere in Virginia were flagged for the same kinds of sanitation problems that led to the outbreak, with the most recent report in June.

Amid the fallout from the outbreak in the fall of 2024, Boar’s Head officials set up a panel of food safety experts. The advisers include Frank Yiannas, a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official, and Mindy Brashears, President Donald Trump’s nominee for USDA’s undersecretary for food safety. The company also hired a chief food safety officer in May.

Company officials refused to discuss the problems found this year. They canceled a scheduled AP interview with Natalie Dyenson, the new food safety officer. And they declined to allow Yiannas to detail the investigation he led into the contamination’s cause.

“Boar’s Head has an unwavering commitment to food safety and quality. That commitment is reflected in recent enhancements to our practices and protocols” described on the company’s website, Boar’s Head said in an emailed statement.

“We have also been working with the USDA in developing a plan to reopen our Jarratt facility in a measured, deliberate way in the coming months,” the statement said.

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here)