The Boar’s Head facility in Jarratt, Virginia, closes indefinitely due to the Listeria outbreak
The outbreak
Deli meat produced at the Boar’s Head in Jarratt, VA., plant caused the largest outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes since 2011 in products produced between May 10 and July 29. Boar’s Head issued a recall of 71 products produced during that time, such as ham, bologna, and bacon, according to the USDA/FSIS. WGS results show that a liverwurst sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health was positive for the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes. The problem was discovered when FSIS was notified by the Maryland Department of Health that a liverwurst sample collected by the tested positive for L. monocytogenes. An unopened sample of liverwurst product collected from a retail store determined that the product sample tested positive for the outbreak strain.
The recalled products include meat intended for slicing at retail delis and some packaged meat and poultry products sold at retail locations. They were distributed to retail locations nationwide, and some were exported to the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama.
The Listeria outbreak resulted in Boar’s Head reclining 7 million pounds of products. As of August 28, 2024, 57 people were reported ill. All 57 people have been hospitalized, and nine deaths have now been reported in 18 states. The death includes two in South Carolina and one each in Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico, and New York.
Jarratt Factory closure
In a letter to their customers, Boar’s Head wrote, “Our investigation has identified the root cause of the contamination as a specific production process that only existed at the Jarratt facility and was used only for liverwurst. With this discovery, we have decided to discontinue liverwurst permanently… Given the seriousness of the outbreak and the fact that it originated at Jarratt, we have made the difficult decision to indefinitely close this location, which has not been operational since late July 2024. It pains us to impact the livelihoods of hundreds of hard-working employees. We do not take lightly our responsibility as one of the area’s largest employers. But, under these circumstances, we feel that a plant closure is the most prudent course. We will work to assist each of our employees in the transition process.”
According to the United Food and Commercial Workers, the union that represents them, the company’s decision to close the plant will impact roughly 500 union workers.
Problems in the Jarratt plant in the last couple of years
The problems in the Jarratt factory were not just minor issues, but serious threats to public health that started long before the deadly Listeria outbreak. Two years before the deadly outbreak, a USDA inspector warned that conditions at a Boar’s Head plant posed an “imminent threat” to public health. Inspectors discovered rusted equipment, condensation dripping on the floor, and green mold on the wall two years before a deadly nationwide Listeria outbreak.
However, the USDA did not impose strict measures on the Jarratt plant, despite the severity of the issues. Since then, other inspections have found many of the problems that persisted, but the plant has not made any changes, including to the liverwurst line. This is despite genome sequencing tests by public health officials in New York and Maryland that tied a strain of Listeria found in Boar’s Head liverwurst to the bacteria from people who died or fell ill, according to the CDC.
A spokesperson for Boar’s Head said the inspectors’ finding of an imminent threat in 2022 was not followed with any enforcement action after the federal agency reviewed the product and environmental testing results, plant records, and observations.
In February, an inspector found “ample amounts of blood in puddles on the floor” and a “rancid smell” throughout a cooler used at the plant. “Small flying gnat like insects were observed crawling on the walls and flying around the room. The room’s walls had heavy meat buildup,” they wrote.
Some USDA officials were surprised that the agency did not shut down the facility in 2022 or require the company to keep the meats on the site until they cleared tests for contamination.
Daniel Engeljohn, a former USDA food safety policy official, said that the company’s production methods would have placed the Jarratt plant in the agency’s category of higher-risk food facilities. However, the agency deems deli meat processing inherently risky because people eat the meat without cooking it first.
The inspectors did not issue any warning letters or suspend operations, and in all of the inspection reports covering a two-and-a-half-year period from January 2022 through July 2024, there is not a single mention of Listeria contamination.
After the outbreak erupted on July 29, 2024, the FSIS/ USDA inspectors wrote, “Your establishment defines Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) as low risk in the ready to eat (RTE) post-lethality exposed processing environment that includes. Your establishment produced product adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes linked to an ongoing outbreak “On July 29, 2024, whole genome sequencing (WGS) was completed the data showed that the Listeria isolated from the liverwurst sample is highly related to the Listeria making people sick in this outbreak.
The company recalled its liverwurst in late July. Days later, Boar’s Head expanded the recall to cover more than 3,500 tons of meat — including ham and other items made in the Jarratt facility, one of several it operates.
Action by Boar’s Head
On September 13, 2024, the company posted a letter to its customers apologizing for causing the outbreak.
“We regret and deeply apologize for the recent Listeria monocytogenes contamination in our liverwurst product. We understand the gravity of this situation and its profound impact on affected families.
Comprehensive measures are being implemented to prevent such an incident from happening again.”
To prevent future incidents, the company announced the implementation of enhanced food safety and quality measures. Including (i) Appointing a new Chief Food Safety & Quality Assurance Officer, reporting directly to Boar’s Head’s president. (ii) Establishing a “Boar’s Head Food Safety Council” comprised of independent industry-leading food safety experts. The council will advise the new Chief Food Safety Officer and the company. Their council members include top food safety microbiologists (Dr. David Acheson, Dr. Mindy Brashears, Dr. Martin Wiedmann, and Frank Yiannas, MPH. David Acheson, MD, FRCP). (iii) Creation of an enhanced companywide food safety and QA program. To be led by the Chief Food Safety Officer, this program will be developed in partnership with the Food Safety Council members and other leading food safety experts.
Finally
Surprisingly, the Jarrett facility was noncompliant for years, although it was inspected regularly. The Virginia Boar’s Head facility was inspected by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services as part of an agreement allowing some states to provide federal inspection services. Boar’s Head claimed that inspectors are at its Virginia plant “every day, and if at any time inspectors identify something that needs to be addressed, our team does so immediately.” However, the facility was noncompliant for over 2 years.
L. monocytogenes is a major concern in refrigerated ready-to-eat (RTE) meats. Contamination often occurs during food processing or packaging, with refrigerated RTE meats being particularly susceptible due to L. monocytogenes resilience to cold temperatures. It does not appear that there was an environmental plan to test for Listeria monocytogenes in a plant that produced RTE deli meats. This is another failure that was not corrected by the authorities.
The USDA /FSIS and cold-cut manufacturers should focus on what needs to be improved and whether lessons learned could be more broadly applied to RTE meat and poultry facilities to prevent another outbreak.