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View the full list of recalled items

VaselineSeptember 4, 2024

0 3 minutes read

“This is the worst inspection report I’ve ever seen,” said food safety attorney Bill Marler.

A leading food safety advocate says more illnesses are likely and that Congress should investigate Boar’s Head after meat products produced at one of the company’s plants were linked to an ongoing listeria outbreak in multiple states.

The outbreak has led to at least 57 hospitalizations and nine deaths in 18 states since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first reported it on July 19. The CDC reported six new deaths related to the outbreak on August 28, including the first fatalities in New Mexico, New York, South Carolina (2) and Tennessee.

There will likely be more illnesses and possibly more deaths because the incubation period for listeria can last more than two months, so people who ate contaminated meat in July could still get sick, said Bill Marler, a Seattle-based attorney who specializes in food safety.

The CDC investigation found that meat sliced at delis, including Boar’s Head brand liverwurst, was contaminated with listeria and made people sick. Boar’s Head subsequently expanded its recall to include every product made at its Jarratt, Virginia, plant.

This week, inspection reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service revealed that inspectors found insects, mold and mildew in the 12 months before the plant voluntarily closed due to the outbreak.

“This is the worst inspection report I’ve ever seen,” Marler told USA TODAY.

Listeria Outbreak Map: See which 18 states have been affected by the outbreak linked to Boar’s Head Deli Meat

Marler, who represents the family of one person who died and two others who became ill during the outbreak, said Congress should investigate how the listeria outbreak started and why inspectors allowed conditions at the plant to persist for so long.

“It’s crazy. Not only was this plant better at producing listeria than it was at producing meat, but what did the inspectors do?” he told USA TODAY.

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List of recalled Boar’s Head meat products

According to the CDC, data shows that meat cut in delis, including Boar’s Head brand liverwurst, is contaminated with listeria and making people sick.

After a link was confirmed between the liverwurst and the outbreak, Boar’s Head said on July 29 that it “voluntarily decided to extend our recall to every item produced in the same facility as our liverwurst. We conducted this broad and precautionary recall totaling seven million pounds because we believed it was the right thing to do.”

Below you will find a list of the recalled products. Here you will also find the labels of the recalled products.

What did federal inspectors find at the Boar’s Head plant?

Inspectors found insects — alive and dead — black and green mold and mildew at the plant in the weeks before Boar’s Head Provisions Co., Inc. issued a July 26 recall of more than 200,000 pounds of liverwurst due to possible listeria contamination.

In June 2024, inspectors also observed “a constant line of ants” on a wall, and in February 2024, they found “large amounts of blood in puddles on the floor” in the plant’s Raw Receiving cooler. “There was also a rancid odor in the cooler.”

“It’s a joke, whether you’re Republican or Democrat, to have a hearing in Congress about why this happened and why the FSIS inspectors allowed this to continue,” Marler said.

In all, the Food Safety and Inspection Service has filed 69 reports of “nonconformities” with the plant over the past year. The agency’s documents were first obtained by CBS News through a Freedom of Information Act request; USA TODAY also filed a request for the inspection documents and independently confirmed the reports.

Map shows which states are affected by listeria outbreak

Nine people have died and 57 have been sickened in 18 states from a listeria outbreak linked to sliced deli meats, the CDC says.

The following map shows where the 57 people in the listeria outbreak lived. Deaths occurred in Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico, and South Carolina (2).

Contributors: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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VaselineSeptember 4, 2024

0 3 minutes read

“This is the worst inspection report I’ve ever seen,” said food safety attorney Bill Marler.

List of recalled Boar’s Head meat products

What did federal inspectors find at the Boar’s Head plant?

Map shows which states are affected by listeria outbreak

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