After production of liverwurst led to the largest listeria outbreak since 2011, leading to 57 people hospitalized in 18 states and nine deaths — including one in Florida — Boar's Head has announced they are permanently discontinuing the popular deli meat and closing the Virginia facility where it was made.
In a release posted to its website Friday, the company, based in Sarasota, Florida, said, "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."
The announcement came months after the discovery of an ongoing listeria outbreak was tied to a "specific production process" at a facility in Jarratt, Virginia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was made aware of the deadly outbreak on July 19 and Boar's Head issued a recall for 207,528 pounds of Boar's Head liverwurst seven days later .
The company later expanded the recall to include every product made at the same plant where the liverwurst was produced, 7.2 million pounds of Boar's Head products.
Last month, inspection reports from the USDA revealed that inspectors found insects, mold and mildew at the Jarratt plant over the 12 months before it was voluntarily shut down because of the outbreak.
The "root cause" of the contamination, according to Boar's Head , was "a specific production process that only existed at the Jarratt facility and was used only for liverwurst.
"With this discovery, we have decided to permanently discontinue liverwurst," the company said.
The company's latest announcement is one of many made since the outbreak was discovered in July, which has resulted in a multi-agency investigation, several lawsuits and calls for a congressional investigation , USA TODAY reported.
Boar's Head to close Virginia plant
Boar's Head also made the "difficult decision" to indefinitely close the Virginia-based facility that produced the liverwurst, impacting about 500 union workers and additional employees in management, USA TODAY reported.
"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," Boar's Head said. "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."
Boar's Head "made no excuses" in response to the inspection records and noncompliance reports at the Jarratt plant.
More Boar's Head changes promised
Boar's Head also has announced new plans to enhance food safety and quality measures, effective immediately:
- Appointing a new chief food Safety & quality assurance officer (CFSO) who reports to the Boar's Head president
- Establishing a “Boar’s Head Food Safety Council” comprised of independent industry-leading food safety experts
- Creating an enhanced companywide food safety and QA program led by the CFSO
"We remain steadfast in our commitment to our customers and to the safety and quality of our products," the company said in a statement. "You have our promise that we will work tirelessly to regain your trust and ensure that all Boar’s Head products consistently meet the high standards that you deserve and expect. We are determined to learn from this experience and emerge stronger.
What Boar's Head deli meats were affected by the listeria outbreak?
The Boar's Head ready-to-eat liverwurst products that were impacted were produced between June 11 and July 17, and have a 44-day shelf life. Sell-by dates on the sides of the packaging ranged from July 25, 2024, to Aug. 30, 2024.
Boar's Head later expanded its recall to include all products made at the Jarratt, Virginia facility.
Here's a list of all the recalled products, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture .
Deaths, illnesses linked to listeria in Boar's Head deli meat
Fifty-seven people in 18 sta tes have been infected with the outbreak strain of listeria as of Aug. 27, according to the Centers for Disease Control. All 57 were hospitalized.
Nine deaths have been reported, including one in Florida:
- 2 in South Carolina
- 1 in Florida
- 1 in Illinois
- 1 in New Jersey
- 1 in Virginia
- 1 in Tennessee
- 1 in New Mexico
- 1 in New York
What is Listeria?
Listeria monocytogenes are bacteria that can infect people with something called listeriosis that is usually mild, according to the CDC , but can spread beyond the intestines to cause fetal loss or newborn death in pregnant people and sepsis (infection of the bloodstream), meningitis or encephalitis (infection of the brain).
Infection during pregnancy results in fetal loss in about 20% of cases and newborn death in about 3% of cases, the CDC said. Listeria also commonly affects adults 65 years and older and people with weakened immune systems.
"Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea," Hormel Foods said in the release.
The CDC estimates that Listeria is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the United States.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida-based Boar’s Head to ‘permanently discontinue’ liverwurst after fatal listeria outbreak
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