Boar’s Head to Reopen Facility Behind Fatal Listeria Outbreak While Other Plants Remain Insanitary
After the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) lifted a forced suspension on July 18, Boar’s Head is planning to reopen its production plant that was linked to a deadly, multistate listeriosis outbreak in 2024. According to documents obtained by the Associated Press (AP), however, the chronically insanitary conditions that caused the outbreak continue to plague Boar’s Head facilities across the U.S.
Between May and September 2024, spanning 19 states, 61 people were sickened and ten died as a result of eating Boar’s Head ready-to-eat (RTE) deli meats contaminated by Listeria monocytogenes. A recall was initiated in July. In September, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) inspection reports dated as early as January 2022 revealed a history of serious, unresolved food safety and sanitation breaches at the Boar's Head facility in Jarratt, Virginia, where the meats behind the outbreak were produced.
Non-compliances recorded in the inspection documents obtained from USDA-FSIS included the presence of mold and insects, meat residues on processing equipment, rust and chipping paint throughout the facility, dripping condensation, and numerous other hazards.
In the present day, as Boar’s Head plans to reopen the Jarratt plant, additional USDA-FSIS inspection reports show that similar insanitary conditions persist at the company’s other production facilities—despite Boar’s Head’s promises to strengthen its food safety and sanitation protocols companywide, alongside its formation of a Food Safety Advisory Council and the creation of a new Chief Food Safety Officer role.
The newly uncovered reports, which AP received through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, cover inspections carried out between January and July 2025 at Boar’s Head facilities in Forrest City, Arkansas; New Castle, Indiana; and Petersburg, Virginia. The documents echo sanitation problems that were found at the Jarratt plant ahead of the listeriosis outbreak, such as meat residues on equipment, discarded meat on the floor and pooling meat juice, drains blocked by meat, beaded condensation, overfull trashcans, rusting meat racks, and staff not wearing proper protective gear or practicing adequate personal hygiene.
AP says that Boar’s Head canceled a scheduled interview to discuss the inspection reports with new Chief Food Safety Officer Natalie Dyenson, and declined to allow Frank Yiannas, M.P.H., Chair of the company’s Food Safety Advisory Council and former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response, to discuss the internal investigation he led into the cause of contamination behind the 2024 outbreak.
In an emailed statement, however, Boar’s Head wrote to AP, “Boar’s Head has an unwavering commitment to food safety and quality. That commitment is reflected in recent enhancements to our practices and protocols… We have also been working with USDA in developing a plan to reopen our Jarratt facility in a measured, deliberate way in the coming months.”
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