The Congressional Food Safety Caucus, headed by U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro, has requested that Boar’s Head representatives appear before the caucus to justify the reopening of its Jarratt, Virginia plant, where the meats behind a deadly 2024 Listeria outbreak were produced.
Boar’s Head is reopening its Jarratt, Virginia plant that produced the deli meats behind a fatal listeriosis outbreak in 2024; however, inspections of the facility are being taken over by UDSA-FSIS directly, instead of relying on a state cooperative agreement.
Boar’s Head is planning to reopen a production plant that was linked to a deadly, multistate listeriosis outbreak in 2024. Meanwhile, inspection reports obtained by the Associated Press show that insanitary conditions similar to those that caused the outbreak continue to plague other Boar’s Head facilities.
Boar's Head has appointed Natalie Dyenson, M.P.H. as its new Chief Food Safety Officer, a new role at the organization that was established as part of a series of initiatives to prioritize food safety following a significant listeriosis outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meats in 2024.
On February 13, Boar’s Head designated a companywide ‘Boar’s Head Food Safety Promise Day’ and unveiled new safety and sanitation controls and processes, following the fatal listeriosis outbreak linked to its products in 2024.
USDA-FSIS published a summary of its review of the deadly Boar’s Head Listeria monocytogenes outbreak, along with newly announced long-term measures to review and modernize its L. monocytogenes regulations and ready-to-eat (RTE) sampling programs.
Boar’s Head has responded to a letter from 22 members of Congress probing the company about the recent, fatal listeriosis outbreak linked to its products. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who signed the letter, called Boar’s Head’s response “not credible” and “a classic corporate dodge.”
Following the high-profile, fatal listeriosis outbreak linked to Boar’s Head ready-to-eat (RTE) deli meats that prompted an internal review of USDA-FSIS processes, the agency has announced several new steps to strengthen its oversight of RTE facilities, including expanded Listeria rule requirements and stricter state-federal cooperative inspection agreements.
Following the history of serious food safety noncompliances at Boar’s Head’s Jarratt, Virginia plant, which led to a fatal listeriosis outbreak, USDA’s Inspector General has launched an internal investigation into the agency’s handling of the repeated sanitary violations found at the facility.
Boar’s Head has appointed Frank Yiannas, former FDA Deputy Commissioner of Food Policy and Response, as its interim Chief Food Safety and Quality Assurance Officer (CFSO) and Chair of its Food Safety Advisory Council. Both the CFSO role and advisory council are new additions to Boar’s Head’s structure, established in response to the fatal listeriosis outbreak of 2024.
