In response to an outbreak of listeria in July traced back to the production of liverwurst at a Virginia plant, the cold cuts company Boar’s Head announced on Friday, the 13th of September, that it will be “indefinitely” closing the Virginia manufacturing plant that is linked to the outbreak that has so far killed 9 people.
The CDC described the outbreak in a late-August press release, saying, “Since the last update on August 8, 2024, 14 more illnesses have been reported, bringing the total to 57. All 57 people have been hospitalized, and 9 deaths have now been reported. The 6 new deaths include one from Florida, one from Tennessee, one from New Mexico, one from New York, and two from South Carolina.”
It added, “This is the largest listeriosis outbreak since the 2011 outbreak linked to cantaloupe. Everyone should check their homes for any remaining recalled Boar’s Head products since they can have long a shelf-life. Look for “EST. 12612” or “P-12612″ inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels. Some of the products have sell by dates into October 2024.”
The CDC also noted the effects of listeria, saying, “Pregnant people typically experience only fever, fatigue, and muscle aches. However, Listeria infection during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or life-threating infection of the newborn. People who are not pregnant may experience headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, in addition to fever and muscle aches. Symptoms of severe illness usually start 1 to 4 weeks after eating contaminated food with Listeria but may start as early as the same day or as late as 70 days after.”
Boar’s Head announced, in the September 13 corporate press release regarding the outbreak, “We regret and deeply apologize for the recent Listeria monocytogenes contamination in our liverwurst product. We understand the gravity of this situation and the profound impact it has had on affected families. Comprehensive measures are being implemented to prevent such an incident from ever happening again.”
Continuing, it noted that the delay in time between the outbreak and the statement came thanks to its thorough investigation, saying, “Since we implemented our voluntary recall on July 25, 2024, we have been conducting an exhaustive investigation into how our liverwurst product became adulterated. We recognize you want and deserve answers, and that you wanted them quickly, but we needed to take the necessary time to conduct an in-depth review and analysis of all our processes and procedures – not just at our Jarratt, Virginia plant where our liverwurst was made, but at all of our Boar’s Head Provisions meat production facilities.”
It added, “Throughout this process, we worked closely with the USDA and state government regulatory agencies, and we thank them for their oversight. We have also partnered with the industry’s leading food safety experts to oversee this investigation. They have left no stone unturned at Jarratt. We can now start to share some of their findings with you and we are committed to sharing more as our work proceeds.”
It then noted that the outbreak came thanks to the liverwurst process, which it will now end as a result. It said (emphasis theirs), “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.”
It also noted that the plant will be closed indefinitely, saying, “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. It pains us to impact the livelihoods of hundreds of hard-working employees. 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.”
Then, adding that it will use the devastating outbreak to embrace yet more food safety programs, Boar’s Head said, “This is a dark moment in our company’s history, but we intend to use this as an opportunity to enhance food safety programs not just for our company, but for the entire industry.”
Featured image credit: By Infrogmation of New Orleans – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83601703
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