USDA Investigating its Own Handling of Boar’s Head Plant’s Serious Food Safety Problems

The USDA has opened an internal investigation into its handling of numerous negative food safety and sanitation reports out of Boar’s Head’s Jarratt, Va., in the years leading up to a deadly Listeria outbreak this year, according to one U.S. senator cited in an Associated Press report.

Approximately 50 people have been sickened — and 10 people have died — since May from Listeria that was found in Boar’s Head liverwurst products. The product was recalled July 25, and USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) suspended production at the plant on July 31.

However, it has come to light that the plant has had serious food safety issues for years that went unresolved, including the presence of mold, insects, water dripping onto product and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment.

USDA inspector general Phyllis Fong reportedly has been investigating the response of federal and state investigators over the past several years after violations were found and reported. Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal demanded an investigation into USDA in a Sept. 5 letter, according to an Associated Press report. The AP also said that Blumenthal and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro asked the U.S. Dept. of Justice to determine if criminal charges were warranted.

Also of note, a former employee of the plant, who served as its sanitation manager from January to August of 2023, confirmed the longstanding issues to Richmond, Va., affiliate ABC 8News in an exclusive interview, adding that the plant’s culture left little room for improvement and wasn’t open to new ideas.

That former sanitation manager admitted in a follow-up story this week that the USDA had interviewed him as part of the investigation a week after the initial interview with the media outlet aired. Between the time the employee was fired from his post as sanitation manager to July 2024, when production was suspended, the Jarratt facility had racked up 69 more violations.

Boar’s Head has attempted to make changes since, resulting in the closure of the Jarratt facility in September, the discontinuation of liverwurst as a product in its portfolio and the appointment of an outside, independent food safety council led by a chief food safety & quality officer (currently, Frank Yiannas is serving as interim CFSO as the company searches for a permanent employee to fill the role).