Lawmakers call for investigation of Boar’s Head as 10 deaths recorded

After the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday, Sept. 25, reported the 10th death connected to a listeria outbreak linked to recalled Boar’s Head deli meat. Lawmakers are now demanding answers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

A group of House representatives and senators sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday, Sept. 26, calling on the USDA and DOJ to investigate the company and figure out whether or not criminal charges should be filed against Boar’s Head for the worst listeria outbreak in more than a decade.

“The time for action is long overdue, and we urge your agencies to work together to seek immediate justice for impacted customers and to prevent this from happening again,” the letter reads in part.

Boar’s Head said earlier this month that it would halt the sales of liverwurst after an investigation found that its production was the root cause of the listeria contamination, and the company announced it is closing its Virginia plant that produced the contaminated liverwurst.

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The plant reportedly not been operational since July when the liverwurst recall took place and eventually expanded to all products made at the facility.

Lawmakers assert that the USDA failed to uphold its authority by allowing Boar’s Head to continue operating the Virginia facility in “horrific conditions,” and they demanded the agency expand inspections to other Boar’s Head plants and test for listeria at all the company’s facilities, adding that the company has a “pattern of noncompliance.”

USDA inspection reports from 2022 described violations at the Virginia plant range from mold, rusty equipment, pools of blood on the floor and “dripping condensation” posing an “imminent threat.” The agency maintains that it advised company management at the plant to take corrective actions to fix the dozens of issues it discovered.

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So far, at least 59 people across 19 states have been sickened by the bacterial outbreak, and now 10 have died. However, experts note that the outbreak may be larger due to the fact that some people infected may not be reporting the sickness and recovering on their own.