Insects, mold found at Boar's Head plant connected to listeria contamination

Specialty meat company Boar's Head is facing more troubles following a significant listeria outbreak that caused deaths and hospitalizations across a list of states stemming from contaminated deli meat.

A Boar's Head plant is said to have continued processing meat for at least two years, even as a public health threat continued, according to food safety authorities.

At least 9 people died and 57 were hospitalized across 18 states after a deli meat contamination outbreak linked to Boar's Head meat sickened customers.

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Jerold Mande is the CEO at Nourish Science. Mande told Scripps News the plant lacked a culture of safety protocols, calling it "deeply troubling."

"Boar's Head has a long history and reputation — so, how did they allow one of their plants not to have a better culture of safety?" Mande said.

The threat found years before this latest outbreak was described as "imminent," and has been linked to the plant located in Jarratt, Va.

Investigators said mold, insects and meat residue were found.

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Mande said the ready-to-eat nature of the product makes it especially susceptible to contamination, and the pathogen listeria is particularly worrisome.

Mande describes listeria as a "very tough character to deal with, in part because it survives cold well."

He said, "so, for a lot of bacteria we're dealing with when you keep it in the refrigerator it keeps the growth of the bacteria down — that's not happening here because listeria grows just fine when it's refrigerated."