Listeria outbreak: As deaths rise, repeated health violations linked to Boar's Head facility

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture investigation found scores of health violations by meat company Boar's Head at its Virginia facility that now is at the center of a nationwide deli meat recall linked to multiple deaths across more than a dozen states, according to records.

At least eight deaths have now been reported, adding Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico and South Carolina to the roster of 17 states with known listeria cases tied directly to the Boar's Head outbreak, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Wednesday in an update.

Listeriosis is America's third-leading cause of death due to food-borne illnesses. "This is the largest listeriosis outbreak since the 2011 outbreak linked to cantaloupe," according to the CDC.

The virus outbreak has grown to 57 hospitalizations in now 17 states linked to recalled meat products from Boar's Head's Jarratt, Va., plant. And all 57 had at one point been hospitalized since buying the tainted meat products.

USDA investigators say in a report that along with paperwork errors and leftover meat on equipment, the dozens of violations included mold, mildew and insects repeatedly discovered during inspections.

Records released by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service to CBS News via a Freedom of Information Act request revealed no less than 69 records of "noncompliances" flagged by USDA over the past year at Boar's Head's Virginia facility.

It's not clear if the well-known supplier of pre-packaged deli meats will face any legal penalties.

Unopened Boar's Head products genetically tested in multiple states were found contaminated with the bacteria known as Listeria monocytogenes.

Meanwhile, all operations at Boar's Head's Jarrat, Va., plant have been suspended. Company officials are working to disinfect the facility and retrain its current employees, and no meat products will be sent out "until it meets the highest quality and safety standards," according to a company spokesperson.

"As a USDA-inspected food producer, the agency has inspectors in our Jarratt, Virginia plant every day and if at any time inspectors identify something that needs to be addressed, our team does so immediately, as was the case with each and every issue raised by USDA in this report," Boar's Head company spokesperson Elizabeth Ward said.

Initially, a limited recall was issued last month for Boar's Head deli meats that days later expanded to include in the recall all Boar's Head products made in the facility.

The CDC has once more advised U.S. consumers to check for any at all remaining recalled Boar's Head products. Some should carry an October sell-by date labeled with "EST. 12612" or "P-12612" inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels.

A spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Public Health says it's likely consumers who were unaware of the recall may have eaten recalled products currently experiencing a prolonged course of illness consistent with how the virus works.

"Unfortunately, an outbreak of Listeria has reached our state, and is potentially the cause of two deaths here," Dr. Linda Bell, the state's epidemiologist, wrote Wednesday in a news release. "We want to ensure South Carolinians are aware of this outbreak and that everyone takes necessary steps to avoid consuming products that could be the source of infection."

It was first reported on July 20 by the CDC that a listeria outbreak tied to sliced deli meats had killed two and hospitalized at least 28 other people across 12 states from roughly May 20 to July 5, with only one reported death at the time in New Jersey and Illinois hundreds of miles away out west.

In its most recent Aug. 8 update , the CDC said 9 new listeria cases by then had been reported with three people dead since the update prior, then bringing the total to 43 cases nationwide but limited at the time to 13 states.

Canada also is grappling with its own listeria outbreak.

Commonly referred to as listeria, it is a serious infection that primarily affects pregnant women, people age 65 or older or who those with a weakened immune systems. People classified in high-risk categories who show symptoms, it is suggested, should seek immediate medical care.

At first, CDC investigators at the time of the breakout found that shoppers afflicted with listeria had all eaten Boar's Head turkey or liverwurst products while some said they ate ham.

At first the CDC did not issue a recall on any of the deli meat, chalking it up to contaminated deli equipment as the likely root of the outbreak.

But days later on July 26, Boar's Head then issued a recall of all liverwurst products made between June 11 and July 17 due to the likelihood of listeria contamination, which expanded a few days later on July 30 to include all other deli meat products produced alongside the liverwurst like ham, bologna and salami.

The first reported cases had seven from New York, six in Maryland and two cases in Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey and Virginia, with one reported in Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Symptoms typically show within two weeks of eating listeria-contaminated food, but may occur as early as a day or be delayed for as long as 10 weeks, according to the CDC.

Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions and diarrhea or other gastrointestinal issues. An infection can cause pregnancy complications, including miscarriages, stillbirths and premature delivery.

The CDC recommends heating deli meats sliced at any deli counter to an internal temperature of 165 degrees or until the meat is steaming hot.

Consumers also can protect against listeria by cleaning their refrigerators and any containers or surfaces that might have contacted sliced deli meats.

In February during another unrelated listeria outbreak linked to cheese and yogurt products which killed 2, hospitalized 23, the FDA said that particular outbreak was part of an ongoing outbreak that dated back a decade

"CDC investigated this outbreak in 2017 and 2021," the FDA then noted, but at that time "there was not enough information to identify a specific brand."