Boar's Head announced that it is indefinitely closing its Jarratt, Va., plant due to a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak that has put the company's safety protocols in the spotlight since it was discovered in late July of this year. The plant has not been in operation since July.
Testing revealed the listeria contamination in the company's liverwurst product. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the company by individuals and families of individuals claiming to be victims of the outbreak. A recently filed lawsuit is seeking $10 million in damages from a woman who says she was hospitalized for six days after ingesting affected meat.
A letter to Boar's Head from FSIS called into question the company's safety practices, namely the sanitation protocols of employees as they moved about the plant. "During IVT collection, EIAOs observed employees moving racks out of coolers and between lines without changing PPE, even when interacting with different product types," reads the letter. "They also observed employees who freely move between all lines without directly interacting with product such as those removing garbage, removing product debris from the floors, removing condensation from overhead structures or performing maintenance."
The letter lists other noncompliance found during visits. However, the FSIS/USDA's own practices have been called into question as well.
“The years of inspection reports leave little doubt that the Boar’s Head plant’s food safety plan must have been non-existent," says food safety attorney, Bill Marler, who is calling on Congress to investigate Boar's Head and USDA/FSIS inspectors involved with the plant. “It is hard to wrap your head around how food could be produced in these conditions by this company and under the gaze of FSIS inspectors."
As a result of the outbreak, the company announced on Sept. 13th that it will permanently discontinue liverwurst after an investigation found the root cause was a specific production process that only existed at the Jarratt facility and was only used for liverwurst.
In an even more extreme measure, the company also announced on Friday that it would indefinitely close the Jarratt facility.
"We do not take lightly our responsibility as one of the area’s largest employers," the company says in a statement. "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.
"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."
