Boar’s Head closing plant linked to listeria cases

Boar’s Head announced Friday it will close its Jarratt, Va., production plant linked to this summer's deadly listeria outbreak.

In a release on its website, the company said it has been investigating alongside the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) after at least nine people died and more than 60 were sickened by a listeria outbreak stemming from liverwurst product at the plant.

The Jarratt processing plant temporarily closed after the outbreak, and Boar’s Head recalled 7 million pounds of products after reports of the outbreak.

But, on Friday, Boar’s Head said it “made the difficult decision to indefinitely close this location” given the seriousness of the outbreak.

“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,” the company wrote. “But, under these circumstances, we feel that a plant closure is the most prudent course.”

Boar’s Head said its investigation identified the root cause of the outbreak was with a specific production process of the product and said it will “permanently discontinue liverwurst.”

USDA released noncompliance reports from the Jarratt facility that dated back two years and showed the plant posed an “imminent threat.” Records show there was rusted equipment, green mold on walls, live beetles in hallways, dirt, screws and trash in production areas, among other violations.

Boar’s Head acknowledged the violations in its release and said “we will not make any excuses.” The investigations have “left no stone unturned at Jarratt,” the company said.

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said it had been investigating the listeria outbreak and conditions at its establishments nationwide. The agency said it was looking to see if there were any lessons learned that could be broadly applied to ready-to-eat meat and poultry facilities across the country.

Boar’s Head said it will immediately implement several quality measures to prevent future incidents. The company said it will appoint a new chief food safety and quality assurance officer, creating food safety and quality assurance programs, and establish a Boar’s Head Food Safety Council comprised of independent industry safety experts.

“This is a dark moment in our company’s history, but we intend to use this as an opportunity to enhance food safety programs not just for our company, but for the entire industry,” Boar’s Head said.