Boar's Head shutters Virginia plant tied to deadly listeria outbreak

By Kate Gibson

Updated on: September 13, 2024 / 2:13 PM EDT / CBS News

Boar's Head Provisions will no longer make liverwurst and is closing the
Virginia facility at the center of a listeria outbreak that killed nine
people and hospitalized at least 57 in 18 states, the producer of deli
meats announced on Friday.

"We understand the gravity of this situation and the profound impact it has
had on affected families. Comprehensive measures are being implemented to
prevent such an incident from ever happening again," the company said in a
statement posted on its website.

The plant in Jarratt, Virginia, has not been operational since late July,
when the company recalled millions of pounds of deli meat products after
listeria was detected in liverwurst produced at the facility.

Inspectors turned up dozens of violations at the plant, the setting for the
nation's largest listeriosis outbreak since one linked to cantaloupe in
2011, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Federal inspectors cited the plant repeatedly after finding leftover meat
on equipment, mold and mildew buildup, insects in and around deli meats and
puddles of blood on the plant's floor.

The company's investigation found the process used to make liverwurst to be
behind the contamination and has therefore decided to no longer make the
product at any of its facilities, Boar's Head stated.

Roughly 500 union workers are impacted by the company's decision to close
the plant, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers, the union
that represents them.

Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that can spread through water, mist,
on workers clothes and hands and improperly sanitized equipment. In 2002, a
listeria outbreak in turkey deli meat was linked to eight deaths and three
"fetal deaths" among pregnant women, according to an account published by
the National Library of Medicine.

The USDA has a zero-tolerance policy for listeria in ready-to-eat meats,
meaning any amount of contamination makes the product unsafe for
consumption.

In addition to meats, the privately held Boar's Head brand, started in
1905, includes cheeses, hummus and condiments.