Boar's head will never make liverwurst again after the outbreak killed 9

Major pork deli-meat plant nationwide Listeria The outbreak, which has so far claimed nine lives, harbored the deadly germ in a common area of ​​the facility considered “low risk.” Listeria. Additionally, it had no written plan to prevent cross-contamination of dangerous bacteria to other products and areas. That's according to a federal document recently released by Boers Head.

On Friday, the company announced it was indefinitely closing the Jarratt, Virginia-based plant and would never again produce liverwurst — the product that health investigators in Maryland first identified as the source of the outbreak strain. Listeria monocytogenes. The investigation led to the recall of more than 7 million pounds of pork. The Jarratt plant, where the company's liverwurst is made, has been closed since late July amid an investigation into how the outbreak occurred.

In the September 13 update, Bower's chief explained that:

[O]ur investigation identified the root cause of the contamination as a specific manufacturing process that existed only at the Jarratt facility and was used only for liverwurst. With this discovery, we have decided to discontinue Liverwurst permanently.

While the statement appears to offer some closure on the source of the outbreak, previously released inspection reports described a facility riddled with sanitation failures. Between August 1, 2023 and August 2, 2024, the facility was cited for 69 violations, including water leaks, mold in numerous areas, algae growth, “meat-making” caking equipment and walls crawling with flies and chicks, among others. Sightings of insects, putrid smells, trash and debris on the floor, and even “lots of blood in pools.”

The New York Times also reported that a 2022 inspection found the plant posed an “imminent threat” to public health, and inspectors noted “extensive rust, exposed deli meat on a wet roof, green mold and holes in the walls.”

Cross-contamination

The document just released by Boar's Head is a letter dated July 31 from the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service informing the company that the Jarratt facility has been suspended. The suspension was based on an inspection finding on July 24 and 25 L. Monocytogenes Contaminating a pallet jack in a large room where ready-to-eat meat is processed. The room was a general area not dedicated to liverwurst processing and Boar's Head considered it “low risk”. Listeria.

Eight processing lines were in the meat room, including lines 1 through 4 on the left and 5 through 8 on the right, handling hot dogs and other small sausages. The contaminated pallet jack was designated for Production Line 2, which was handling Beachwood hams, and was used to move racks of hams from the blast cooler to the production line in the processing room.

However, inspectors noted that the room's pallet jacks and product racks were not placed on specific production lines, and instead, workers moved them between all lines and all blast coolers, enabling cross-contamination. And, as equipment moved around, so did people. Although employees usually stuck to a production line, they sometimes moved between lines, and workers had no way to change personal protective equipment (PPE)—gloves, disposable aprons, and arm covers—when they switched. Inspectors saw them change without changing their PPE.

“They also observed employees who moved freely between all lines without direct contact with product such as removing trash, removing product debris from floors, removing condensation from overhead structures, or performing maintenance,” USDA officials wrote. .

Spread of the outbreak

Given that it was in a room full of meat that was supposedly ready to eat, the USDA concluded that the boar's head “failed to maintain sanitary conditions” and that Listeria The control program was “ineffective.”

Till date, 57 people from 18 states have fallen ill. 57 people were hospitalized and nine died. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said health officials interviewed 44 people who became ill during the outbreak, who said they had eaten various deli-cut meats. Only 25 reported eating deli-sliced ​​liverwurst.

In light of the outbreak, Boar's Head said it was restructuring safety and quality assurances at its other facilities and hiring experienced food safety experts. “You have promised us that we will work tirelessly to restore your trust and ensure that all Boar Head products consistently meet the high standards you deserve and expect. We are determined to learn from this experience and grow stronger.”