Democrats what Boar’s Head officials to answer questions before reopening plant

A group of Democratic legislators want Boar’s Head officials to appear before a congressional caucus before reopening the production plant that was behind a deadly Listeria outbreak in 2024.

The lawmakers, lead by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, sent the letter on Monday asking the company to send officials to appear before the Congressional Food Safety Caucus to discuss “a repeated pattern of food safety negligence that jeopardized Americans’ public health.” Nine other Democrats signed the letter. They requested a response from the company by Sept. 26.

Company officials have said they plan to reopen the plant in Jarrett, VA, but have not released a specific date. They closed down operations there after more than 60 people were infected with Listeria after eating Boar’s Head deli meats. Ten of the patients died.

The outbreak resulted in the company recalling more than 7 million pounds of products and permanently stopping production of liverwurst nationwide.

Government inspection reports for the years leading up to the outbreak showed a litany of  problems at the Jarrett, VA, facility, including 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 failed to follow required hygiene practices. 

According to documents obtained by Food Safety News through a Freedom of Information Act request, inspectors found similar problems at all of the other Boar’s Head production plants across the United States. 

The USDA contracted with Virginia to provide inspection services at the Jarrett plant. In July the USDA said the plant could resume operations, but that federal inspectors would be taking over.

“It is appalling that Boar’s Head is encountering similar issues at other facilities of theirs,” the lawmakers’ letter says. “This information leaves us less than confident that the facility in Jarratt, Virginia, is prepared to reopen safely.”

Boar’s Head officials told the Associated Press that they are reviewing the letter.

“In our more than 120-year history, what happened at our Jarratt facility was the first time that such an event occurred,” the company said in a statement. “We moved quickly, aggressively and decisively in close collaboration with regulators and leading food safety experts to identify the root cause of the problem and implement enhancements to our food manufacturing nationwide to prevent something like this from ever happening again.”

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