Boar’s Head Plant Posed ‘Imminent Threat’ 2 Years Before Fatal Listeria Outbreak

The Boar’s Head plant at the center of the listeria outbreak that has claimed nine lives, so far, posed an “imminent threat” to consumers, according to an explosive new report.

The New York Times is reporting that U.S. inspectors noted considerable rust, deli meats exposed to moist ceilings, green mold, and cracks in the walls as reasons why conditions at the plant constituted an “imminent threat” to public health.

However, the factory in Jarratt, Virginia, was spared harsh penalties from the U.S. Agriculture Department that might have included a warning letter or perhaps a suspension of operations. Subsequent inspections revealed that numerous issues remained for two years after the initial report, yet the company kept processing a large amount of beef and pork products, including liverwurst.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, genome sequencing studies conducted by public health officials in New York and Maryland linked a strain of listeria detected in Boar’s Head liverwurst to the bacterium from individuals who passed away or became ill.

The meat processing facility has temporarily ceased operations. According to Boar’s Head, the plant is being sanitized and the source of the alleged contamination is being investigated. In the greatest listeria outbreak in years, nine elderly people have passed away and numerous more have been hospitalized.

Boar’s Head Plant & Trump-era Regulation Rollbacks

The New Republic described Trump’s regulation rollbacks as “turning back the clock” on meatpacking factories, resulting in conditions similar to those described in Upton Sinclair’s pioneering book “The Jungle.” This is the primary cause of Boar’s Head’s current problems.

According to a CBS News report, the Virginia plant had reached a critical level of risk and was the primary cause of the national listeria catastrophe.

Apart from issues like lacking documentation and meat stains on equipment, the records show that inspectors frequently reported Boar’s Head for mold or mildew buildup around the company’s Jarratt facilities. In July, federal investigators detected what seemed to be mold and mildew in the hand-washing sinks used by staff members handling meats that should be fit for human consumption.

Records from earlier times also state that mold was observed growing outside the steel vats used by the factory and inside holding refrigerators that were positioned between the smokehouses. There were numerous leaks or pools of water in a few other places. In one, there was “a green algal growth” inside the puddle, and in another, there was condensation “dripping over product being held.”

A representative for the Boar’s Head corporation, Elizabeth Ward, said in a statement to USA Today that they “deeply regret the impact this recall has had on affected families.”

“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,” Ward said while claiming that food safety is the company’s “absolute priority.”