Boars Head Will Never Make Liverwurst Again After Listeria Outbreak Killed 9

The Boar’s Head deli meat plant at the epicenter of a nationwide listeria outbreak has announced that it will no longer make liverwurst products again. Thus far, nine people have died due to the contaminated meat.

On Friday, the company announced it is indefinitely closing the Jarratt, Virginia-based plant, the source of the outbreak strain of listeria monocytogenes. This finding led to the recall of more than 7 million pounds of Boar’s Head meat. The plant has been shuttered since late July amid the investigation into how the outbreak occurred.

In a statement, the company explained, “First and foremost, our investigation has identified the root cause of the contamination as a specific production process that only existed at the Jarratt facility and was used only for liverwurst. With this discovery, we have decided to permanently discontinue liverwurst.”

Boar's Head will no longer make liverwurst and is closing the Virginia facility at the center of a listeria outbreak that killed nine people and hospitalized at least 57 in 18 states. https://t.co/fuJwKTseHn

— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 13, 2024

“In response to the inspection records and noncompliance reports at the Jarratt plant, we will not make excuses. In the spirit of complete transparency, we are sharing with you the July 31, 2024 USDA Notice of Suspension received by our Jarratt facility here. Given the seriousness of the outbreak, and the fact that it originated at Jarratt, we have made the difficult decision to indefinitely close this location, which has not been operational since late July 2024,” the statement continued.

As reported by CBS News, the United Food and Commercial Workers union shared that the closing of this facility will impact around 500 union workers.

“It pains us to impact the livelihoods of hundreds of hard-working employees,” Boar’s Head noted in the statement. “We do not take lightly our responsibility as one of the area’s largest employers. But, under these circumstances, we feel that a plant closure is the most prudent course. We will work to assist each of our employees in the transition process.”

Boar’s Head concluded that while this is a “dark moment” in company history, they intend to use it as an “opportunity” to enhance their food safety programs —”not just for our company, but for the entire industry.”

The company is immediately implementing enhanced food safety measures. These include appointing a new chief food safety and quality assurance officer (CFSO) and establishing a “Boar’s Head Food Safety Council” comprised of independent industry-leading experts. Additionally, the company is creating an improved food safety and QA program for the entire organization.