What happened
Government food safety inspectors reported 69 “noncompliances” with federal safety standards at a Boar’s Head deli meat plant in Jarratt, Virginia, in the year before it was identified as the source of a listeria outbreak that has left at least nine people dead and dozens hospitalized, U.S. Department of Agriculture records released yesterday show. Boar’s Head recalled more than 7 million pounds of pork and other meat products on July 29.
Who said what
The problems, flagged on 57 separate days between August 2023 and July 27, included insects, “black patches of mold,” a “rancid smell in the cooler,” mildew, “blood in puddles on the floor,” liquids dripping from the ceiling, “heavy discolored meat buildup” and “meat overspray on walls.” Boar’s Head told CBS News that food safety is the company’s “absolute priority” and the Jarratt team immediately addressed “each and every issue raised by USDA in this report.”
Food safety experts questioned why Boar’s Head didn’t clean up the repeated problems and the safety regulators didn’t make them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called this the “largest listeriosis outbreak” since 2011, when cantaloupe was the source. About 260 people die from listeria in the U.S. each year.
What next?
The Jarratt plant will remain closed until Boar’s Head can “demonstrate it can produce safe product” there, the USDA said yesterday. It can take up to 10 weeks to develop listeria symptoms, so “federal health official anticipate seeing additional cases,” The Washington Post said.