The Boar’s Head plant, which produced deli meat in Virginia, will cease operations after a deadly Listeria outbreak spread across multiple states.
The company announced Friday that it was closing its Jarratt, Virginia, plant and taking several steps to strengthen the food safety of its products.
“Following an investigation, it was determined that the root cause of the contamination was solely present at the Jarratt plant and was due to a specific manufacturing process that was only used for liverwurst. As a result of this discovery, the company has decided to permanently cease manufacturing liverwurst,” Boar’s Head said in a press release on Friday.
The Boar’s Head plant in Virginia has been closed since July, when the company first announced a recall of more than 200,000 deli meats.
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service has received reports since 2022 of insect infestations at the facility, “pools of blood on the floor,” as well as mold and other issues.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that a listeria outbreak has killed nine people and hospitalized 57 in 18 states.
In addition to ceasing liverwurst production, Boar’s Head announced it would appoint a food safety officer and an independent food safety expert to an advisory board to oversee the company’s overall food safety program.
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