Aug. 8, 2025:
UNDATED (AP)- The Boar’s Head deli meat plant at the heart of last year’s deadly food poisoning outbreak is set to reopen in the coming months, company officials said.
But recent inspections at Boar’s Head sites in three states documented sanitation problems similar to those that led to the listeria contamination that killed 10 people and sickened dozens.
The Jarratt, Virginia, plant was shut down in September 2024 when U.S. Agriculture Department officials suspended operations and withdrew the federal marks of inspection required to operate, saying the company “failed to maintain sanitary conditions.” Boar’s Head permanently stopped making liverwurst and recalled more than 7 million pounds of deli products.
USDA officials this week 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 (Aug. 6, 2025).
And yet, 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.
In the past seven months, government inspectors reported problems that include instances of 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.
The records, which included USDA noncompliance reports logged by inspectors from Jan. 1 through July 23, raise new questions about the company’s promises to address systemic problems and about federal oversight of listeria contamination in plants that make ready-to-eat foods.
“If there is evidence that food safety problems are continuing, the government needs to make sure the company fixes them,” said Sandra Eskin, a former USDA official who now heads STOP Foodborne Illness, a consumer group focused on food safety.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins last month announced plans to bolster efforts that combat foodborne germs, including listeria.
Jobs posted in Virginia
Officials at Boar’s Head, the 120-year-old company based in Sarasota, Florida, have posted job openings for two dozen positions, including a food safety quality analyst, at the Jarratt site.
The company convened a panel of expert advisers last fall and hired a chief food safety officer in May. 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.
Boar’s Head last year said they “regret and deeply apologize” for the contamination and that “comprehensive measures are being implemented to prevent such an incident from ever happening again.”
But 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.
Brashears, who now directs a food safety center at Texas Tech University, did not respond to requests for comment about the Boar’s Head problems. An automatic email reply said the USDA nominee was traveling out of the country until Aug. 25. She remains on the company’s food safety board.
“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.
Inadequate sanitation practices
The 35 pages of new inspection findings cover Boar’s Head sites in Forrest City, Arkansas; New Castle, Indiana; and Petersburg, Virginia.
They surprised outside food safety advocates, who said that factory conditions should have improved in the year since the outbreak was first identified.
“You would have expected after all they went through that they would put themselves in a place where you could essentially eat deli meat off the factory floor,” said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy for Consumer Reports, an advocacy group.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro called the findings “appalling.”
“This is a pattern of negligence — cutting corners to protect the company’s bottom line at the expense of consumers and these conditions show a complete disregard for food safety and for the public health of the American people,” the Connecticut Democrat said in a statement.
The findings echo the “inadequate sanitation practices” that USDA officials said contributed to the outbreak. Key factors included product residue, condensation and structural problems in the buildings, a January report concluded.
At the Jarratt plant, state inspectors working in partnership with USDA had documented mold, insects, liquid dripping from ceilings, and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment, the AP previously reported.
While no instances of insects were documented in this year’s inspection reports, there were repeated reports of “dried fat and protein from the previous day’s production” on equipment, stairs and walls. In April, an inspector at the Petersburg plant reported finding discarded meat underneath equipment, including “5-6 hams, 4 large pieces of meat and a large quantity of pooling meat juice.”
Other reports detailed beaded condensation “directly over the food contact surfaces of tables and conveyor belts.” Additional reports documented rusting meat racks, doors that failed to close completely and staff who ignored required handwashing stations.
The reports point to a “food safety culture problem,” said Barbara Kowalcyk, who directs a food safety and nutrition security center at George Washington University.
“What jumped out to me is there is an organizational culture issue that needs to be changed,” she said. “Usually that culture has to start at the top.”
In the meantime, she advised consumers to think carefully about deli meat consumption. Older people and those who are pregnant or have weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable to serious illness from listeria infections.
“I think they need to be aware that there are issues at this organization that still are not completely under control, apparently,” Kowalcyk said.
Boar’s Head faced multiple lawsuits from people who fell ill or from the families of those who died. Several survivors declined to comment publicly on the new problems, citing financial settlements with the company that included nondisclosure agreements.
JANUARY 14, 2025:
UNDATED (AP)- Government inspectors documented unsanitary conditions at several Boar’s Head deli meat plants, not just the factory that was shut down last year (2024) after a deadly outbreak of listeria poisoning, federal records show.
Newly released reports from Boar’s Head plants in New Castle, Indiana; Forrest City, Arkansas; and Petersburg, Virginia, described multiple instances of meat and fat residue left on equipment and walls, dripping condensation falling on food, mold, insects and other problems dating back roughly six years. Last May, one inspector documented “general filth” in a room at the Indiana plant.
The U.S. Agriculture Department released the inspection records in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from The Associated Press and other news organizations.
The problems documented at the three factories echo some of the violations found at the Jarratt, Virginia, plant linked to the food poisoning outbreak. The newly released reports describe:
— Equipment “covered in meat scraps” in 2019.
— “Dry crusted meat from the previous day’s production” and “dark, stinky residue” left behind in 2020.
— A doorway covered in “dried meat juices and grime” in 2021.
— Green mold and flaking paint in 2022.
— “Unidentified slime” and “an abundance of insects” in 2023.
— A puddle of “blood, debris and trash” in 2024.
Boar’s Head officials said in an email Monday that the violations documented in the three factories “do not meet our high standards.” The company’s remaining plants continue to operate under normal USDA oversight, they added. The Sarasota, Florida-based company has marketed itself for decades as a premier provider of deli meats and cheeses, advertising “excellence that stands apart in every bite.”
Records from a fourth Boar’s Head plant in Holland, Michigan, do not show similar problems.
Boar’s Head stopped making liverwurst and shuttered its Jarratt, Virginia, plant in September after listeria poisoning tied to the product sickened more than 60 people in 19 states, including 10 who died.
Health officials in Maryland initially discovered listeria contamination in a package of unopened liverwurst. The company recalled more than 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat deli meat and poultry sold nationwide. About 2.6 million pounds was eventually recovered, according to the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The conditions revealed at the other Boar’s Head plants are “really concerning,” said Thomas Gremillion, director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit advocacy group.
“It’s reasonable for some people to decide they don’t want to eat deli meat,” he said. “Companies like Boar’s Head, they should have to earn consumers’ trust.”
Boar’s Head faces multiple lawsuits connected to the outbreak.
“This makes me extremely angry and sad,” said Garett Dorman, whose mother, Linda Dorman, 73, of Oxford, Pennsylvania, died in July after eating Boar’s Head liverwurst. She had cancer, and liverwurst was one of the few foods she would eat, he said. He is suing the company, according to court documents filed by Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm.
“I believe Boar’s Head needs to completely revamp their program at all of their facilities,” Dorman said in an email. “Boar’s Head needs to put the welfare of people as their highest priority.”
Lawmakers including Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro have sharply criticized USDA officials for not taking stronger action against the company, despite documentation of repeated problems. The USDA inspector general is reviewing the agency’s handling of the situation. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether criminal charges are warranted.
“The new records released by FSIS should be considered by the DOJ, especially as they potentially point to a wider, systemic problem,” the lawmakers said in a statement. “These reports make clear that there is a culture of noncompliance of critical safety and sanitary protocols.”
In a report released Friday, USDA officials said “inadequate sanitation practices” at the Jarratt plant contributed to the outbreak. Product residue, condensation and structural problem in the buildings were key factors, the agency found. State inspectors working in partnership with USDA had documented mold, insects, liquid dripping from ceilings, and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment, the AP previously reported.
USDA officials have promised new measures to control listeria in plants that make ready-to-eat foods, including broader testing, updated training and tools, increased inspections, more food safety reviews and stronger oversight of state inspectors who act on behalf of the agency.
Boar’s Head is hiring a “food safety culture manager,” according to Frank Yiannas, a former official at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration who is now advising the company.
OCTOBER 7, 2024:
Lawmakers want to know why the Department of Agriculture and Boar’s Head did not take action to avoid a Listeria outbreak. A group of U.S. legislators are demanding answers from officials regarding egregious food safety violations at a production plant that has led to dozens of hospitalizations and at least 10 deaths.
“What is especially troubling is how egregious sanitation problems occurred despite supposed regular oversight, oversight which typically includes at least one inspection per shift,” the legislators wrote to USDA officials.
According to records released by USDA, inspectors turned up 69 records of noncompliance at this individual plant. Inspectors found and documented mold and mildew around the hand washing sinks for staff working with meats that are supposed to be ready to eat, mold in holding coolers, blood in puddles on the floor, insects in and around deli meats at the plant, and heavy meat buildup on walls and machinery. The legislators cited a New York Times story that reported that two years prior, U.S. inspectors warned that conditions at the Boar’s Head plant posed an imminent threat to public health.
SEPTEMBER 26, 2024:
NEW YORK (AP) — A 10th person has died in the listeria outbreak that shuttered a Boar’s Head deli meat plant, federal health officials said Wednesday (Sept. 25, 2024).
At least 59 people in 19 states have been sickened by the bacteria first detected in liverwurst made at the Jarratt, Virginia, plant. Illnesses were reported between late May and late August, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. All of those who fell ill were hospitalized.
The latest fatality was reported in New York, bringing the total deaths to two each in New York and South Carolina and one each in Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee and New Mexico.
The Sarasota, Florida-based company announced on Sept. 13 that it was closing the Jarratt plant and discontinuing production of liverwurst. The moves came after inspection reports revealed problems including mold, insects, dripping water and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment dating back at least two years.
Boar’s Head faces multiple lawsuits related to the deaths and illnesses.
The plant hasn’t operated since late July, when officials with the U.S. Agriculture Department suspended inspections and the firm recalled more than 7 million pounds of deli meats because of potential contamination.
Boar’s Head officials have said they “regret and deeply apologize” for contamination in their products.
Listeria infections are caused by a hardy type of bacteria that can survive and even thrive during refrigeration. An estimated 1,600 people get listeria food poisoning each year and about 260 die, according to the CDC. Infections can be hard to pinpoint because symptoms may occur up to 10 weeks after eating contaminated food.
AUGUST 8, 2024:
NEW YORK (AP) — Three people have now died in a listeria food poisoning outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meats, federal food safety officials announced Thursday (Aug. 8, 2024), and the overall number of people sickened rose to 43.
The additional death happened in Virginia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a news release Thursday. The other two deaths were in New Jersey and Illinois. The CDC also said nine more cases were reported since a July 31 release about the outbreak, which started in late May.
Boar’s Head recalled 7 million pounds of deli meats on July 30, expanding an initial recall on July 25 after a liverwurst sample collected by health officials in Maryland tested positive for listeria. The CDC said Thursday that a New York health officials tested a liverwurst sample and confirmed the same strain of listeria.
The recall includes more than 70 products — including liverwurst, ham, beef salami and bologna — made at the company’s plant in Jarratt, Virginia.
Boar’s Head already faces two lawsuits over the outbreak, one in a Missouri court and the other a class action suit in federal court in New York.
The meat was distributed to stores nationwide, as well as to the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama. Consumers should not eat the recalled meats and should discard them or return them to the store for a refund. Listeria bacteria can survive and grow in the refrigerator, so officials say people who had recalled products should thoroughly clean and sanitize the fridge to prevent contamination.
The CDC estimates 1,600 people a year get listeria food poisoning and about 260 of those people die.
The most common symptoms include fever, muscle aches and fatigue, though infections may also cause confusion and convulsions. Infections are most dangerous for people older than 65, people with weak immune systems and pregnant people. Symptoms may not appear for weeks after eating contaminated food.
JULY 31, 2024:
NEW YORK (AP) — The popular deli meat company Boar’s Head is recalling an additional 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat products made at a Virginia plant as an investigation into a deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning continues, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said Tuesday (July 30, 2024).
The new recall includes 71 products made between May 10 and July 29, 2024, under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names. It follows an earlier recall of more than 200,000 pounds of sliced deli poultry and meat. The new items include meat intended to be sliced at delis as well as some packaged meat and poultry products sold in stores.
They include liverwurst, ham, beef salami, bologna and other products made at the firm’s Jarratt, Virginia, plant.
The recalls are tied to an ongoing outbreak of listeria poisoning that has killed two people and sickened nearly three dozen in 13 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly all of those who fell ill have been hospitalized. Illnesses were reported between late May and mid-July.
The problem was discovered when a liverwurst sample collected by health officials in Maryland tested positive for listeria. Further testing showed that the type of bacteria was the same strain causing illnesses in people.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to immediately and voluntarily expand our recall to include all items produced at the Jarratt facility,” the company said on its website. It has also halted production of ready-to-eat foods at the plant.
The meat was distributed to stores nationwide, as well as to the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama, Agriculture Department officials said.
Consumers who have the recalled products in their homes should not eat them and should discard them or return them to stores for a refund, company officials said. Health officials said refrigerators should be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized to prevent contamination of other foods.
An estimated 1,600 people get listeria food poisoning each year and about 260 die, according to the CDC.
Listeria infections typically cause fever, muscle aches and tiredness and may cause stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Symptoms can occur quickly or to up to 10 weeks after eating contaminated food. The infections are especially dangerous for people older than 65, those with weakened immune systems and during pregnacy.
JULY 26, 2024:
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials Friday (July 26, 2024) announced a recall of some Boar’s Head liverwurst and deli meats as they investigate a listeria outbreak that has sickened nearly three dozen people and caused two deaths.
Boar’s Head Provisions Co. recalled liverwurst because it may be tainted with the listeria bacteria, the U.S. Agriculture Department said. The agency said a sample of Boar’s Head liverwurst from a Maryland store tested positive for listeria.
The company is also recalling deli-sliced meats made the same day on the same line as the contaminated liverwurst at a Virginia plant, the USDA said. The sample was from an unopened package, collected by health officials as part of an investigation into the listeria outbreak
Testing is underway to determine if the liverwurst sample is connected to the outbreak, health officials said.
The company did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.
The listeria outbreak was first reported last week. Since late May, 34 people were sickened across 13 states, with all but one hospitalized. Two people died — in Illinois and New Jersey. It can take weeks for symptoms to develop symptoms so there may be more cases, officials said.
People most commonly reported eating deli-sliced turkey, liverwurst and ham, officials said.
Listeria can contaminate food and sicken people who eat it. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, nausea and diarrhea. It can be treated with antibiotics, but it is especially dangerous to pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
An estimated 1,600 people get listeria food poisoning each year and about 260 die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Boar’s Head recall of over 200,000 pounds shipped nationwide applies to meats sliced at a deli counter, not prepackaged meats. It includes a number of multi-pound packages stamped with an Aug. 10 sell-by date, including bologna, garlic bologna, beef bologna, beef salami, Italian Cappy-style ham and Extra Hot Italian Cappy-style ham. Also included is Steakhouse Roasted Bacon Heat and Eat, with a sell-by date of Aug. 15.
Consumers who might still have the recalled meats shouldn’t eat them, and officials said they should thoroughly clean their refrigerators to prevent contamination of other foods.
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