WASHINGTON — The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) released a new report on Jan. 10 looking over the Boar’s Head multi-state Listeria outbreak during 2024.
The agency acknowledged in its review that it found “inadequate sanitation practices” at the Jarratt, Va., facility run by Boar’s Head.
Previous updates by public health officials stated that 10 people died and 60 people were hospitalized during the outbreak. In its final update on the case, the agency said 61 people in 19 states became ill from Listeria.
After its initial assistance with the public health threat last year, FSIS documented multiple instances of noncompliance for sanitation operation procedures in this new report including:
- Product Residue: Inspectors identified the presence of meat and fat residue from the previous day’s production on equipment, including packaging equipment and in the ready-to-eat (RTE) processing area during preoperational sanitation checks.
- Condensation: Inspectors identified multiple instances of condensation in the RTE environment (e.g., dripping condensate on exposed products and a fan blowing condensate directly on products).
- Structural and Facility Problems: Inspectors observed facility and structural-related issues (e.g., cracks, holes and broken flooring) that could hold moisture and contribute to wet conditions. Additional conditions documented included rust, beaded condensation and peeling caulk.
The report also said FSIS looked at the Jarratt plant’s construction activities, sampling history, sampling programs and raw and RTE separation operations.
On Sep. 5, the agency started looking at all FSIS establishments owned by Boar’s Head. They went on to test for Listeria at plants in Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan and other plants in Virginia.
Within the latest review, the FSIS laid out how it plans to enhance and examine its inspection and sampling approach to Listeria in the future.
Inspectors will verify specific Listeria-related factors at all RTE facilities and emphasize existing practices, according to the report.
“This and other recent illness outbreaks caused by Listeria monocytogenes also pointed to a need for the agency to examine and enhance all aspects of its approach to this microorganism,” the agency said in its constituent update. “FSIS undertook a broad and deep dive into its own processes and procedures, including its inspection and sampling at ready-to-eat (RTE) facilities and oversight of Talmadge-Aiken cooperative agreements with states.”
Together, this work informed several key areas for improvement including those related to sampling, inspector training, oversight over Talmadge-Aiken federal plants staffed by state inspectors, and the future of the agency’s Listeria regulatory policy.
In July 2024, Boar’s Head began recalling more than 7 million RTE products after the Maryland Department of Health notified the FSIS of a detection of Listeria in a collected sample of Boar’s Head products.
Documents from the USDA indicated details about food safety protocols going back two years at the Jarratt facility. While the USDA earlier disclosed 69 instances of noncompliance between Aug. 1, 2023, and Aug. 2, 2024, at the Jarratt facility, a more recently released report revealed violations as early as 2022.
The second round of inspection citations fell between January 2022 and June 2023. One note from the USDA categorized the facility as an “imminent threat” before the outbreak.
As a result of the outbreak last year, Boar’s Head indefinitely closed its Virginia processing plant, where the recalled products were manufactured.
Boar’s Head formed aFood Safety Councillater in 2024 of independent food experts to help guide the company in adopting improved food safety programs.