In response to a request for inspections and enforcement records made by the Associated Press, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shared that it is pursuing a criminal investigation against Boar’s Head due to the fatal listeriosis outbreak caused by negligent production practices at the company’s Jarratt, Virginia facility.

According to the Associated Press, when the media organization submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to USDA for records of the agency’s enforcement and inspection actions conducted at the Jarratt production plant, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) officials denied the request on the grounds that the “dozens of pages of documentation” are being used for “a law enforcement purpose, which includes both civil and criminal statutes,” and that releasing such records could “interfere with” and “hinder” the investigation.