Boar’s Head is closing its Jarratt, VA, production plant indefinitely and permanently discontinuing production of liverwurst amidst an outbreak of Listeria infections that has sickened dozens and killed nine.
The announcement today, Sept. 13, included an apology and said “comprehensive measures” are being taken to prevent such incidents in the future. The company reports finding the cause of the problem, but did not say specifically what went wrong.
“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,” the Boar’s Head statement says.
“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.”
Inspectors from the USDA listed serious problems in 2022 that could have resulted in strict measures like a pause in production. But the plant continued operating, and some conditions persisted. Inspectors warned that conditions at a Boar’s Head plant posed an “imminent threat” to public health, citing extensive rust, deli meats exposed to wet ceilings, green mold and holes in the walls.
Here are the 2022 – 2024 Inspections:
Non-Compliance Reports – 1/1/2022 To 8/1/2024
Non-Compliance Reports – 8/1/2023 To 8/2/2024
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/files/2024/09/Non-Compliance_Reports-812023-To-822024-1.pdf
In response to the outbreak Boar’s Head initiated a recall of liverwurst on July 25 this year. On July 30, it expanded the recall to include 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that came from its facility in Jarratt, VA.
The outbreak has sickened 57 people across 18 states, with all patients requiring hospitalization. There will likely be additional patients identified, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also, there is concern that some consumers may still have dangerous products in their homes because they do not expire until well into October.
“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, VA, plant where our liverwurst was made, but at all of our Boar’s Head Provisions meat production facilities,” according to the Boar’s Head statement.
The company reports working closely with the USDA and state government regulatory agencies on its investigation. It also sought the advice from leading food safety experts to oversee the investigation.
“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” Boar’s Head’s statement says.
To prevent future incidents, the company says it is immediately implementing enhanced food safety and quality measures. These measures include:
Appointing a new Chief Food Safety & Quality Assurance Officer (CFSO), reporting directly to Boar’s Head’s president. The company is recruiting now and aims to have this new executive begin as soon as possible.
Establishing a “Boar’s Head Food Safety Council” comprised of independent industry-leading food safety experts, some of whom have been assisting with the current investigation at the Jarratt facility.
“The Food Safety Council, which may evolve over time and as needed, will assist the company’s adoption and implementation of enhanced quality assurance programs and create a new standard for food safety in the industry. The council will serve as advisors to the new Chief Food Safety Officer and to the company as a whole,” the company stated.
The founding council members are Dr. David Acheson, Mindy Brashears, Dr. Martin Wiedmann, and Frank Yiannas.
Boar’s Head described the council members as follows.
David Acheson, M.D., F.R.C.P., has served as the president and CEO of The Acheson Group since founding the global food safety consulting group in 2013. Previously he served as a partner and managing director of Leavitt Partners, where he founded and managed the firm’s food safety services business. Prior to his industry roles, Dr. Acheson served at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for eight years, progressing from Chief Medical Officer of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition to Associate Commissioner for Foods.
Mindy Brashears, Ph.D., is a leading food safety expert and academic. Brashears is the former U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Food Safety and is currently a professor of Food Safety and Public Health and the Director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University.
Martin Wiedmann, Dr. med. vet., Ph.D., is a food microbiologist who is a Cornell University Gellert Family Professor in Food Safety and the co-director of the New York State Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence. With training as both a veterinarian and food scientist, Dr. Wiedmann’s programs focus on a comprehensive and interdisciplinary farm-to-table approach to food safety and quality. He has conducted extensive research on foodborne pathogens and their prevention, with notable insights into emerging food safety threats and cutting-edge technologies that will contribute significantly to our council’s work.
Frank Yiannas, MPH, is the former Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy & Response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. His leadership in implementing the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has significantly improved food safety standards across the nation. A renowned food safety expert, microbiologist, and author, Yiannas has also held food safety leadership roles at Walmart and Disney. He is a past president of the International Association for Food Protection and a past vice-chairman of the Global Food Safety Initiative, as well as an adjunct Professor in the Food Safety Program at Michigan State University.
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