Boar’s Head Provision Co is closing the Jarratt, Virginia, plant that was the source of an outbreak of listeria infection that killed 9 people and hospitalized 57, displacing 500 workers.
“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,” Boar’s Head said.
“But, under these circumstances, we feel that a plant closure is the most prudent course,” the company said.
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The shutdown affects about 500 union workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 union, said Jonathan Williams, the union’s communications director. They’re being offered transfers to other Boar’s Head facilities or severance packages the union negotiated with the company. Williams said additional maintenance and sanitation workers represented by the union will stay on as the plant shuts down and will have the same options when that work is completed.
Above is an aerial view of the Boar’s Head processing plant in Jarratt that was tied to a deadly food poisoning outbreak.
The company suspended all operations at Jarratt in late July after Maryland officials reported they found listeria in Boar’s Head liverwurst purchased at a Baltimore supermarket. That prompted Boar’s Head to recall the liverwurst and nine other products made on the same line. Boar’s Head expanded the recall to all its Jarratt products on July 29.
Health officials say consumers and retailers should throw out any of the recalled items purchased before July 31.
Boar’s Head said its investigation found the root cause of the contamination was 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 company said.
“In response to the inspection records and noncompliance reports at the Jarratt plant, we will not make excuses,” the company said.
Many of the products recalled by Boar’s Head are meats meant to be sliced at grocery store deli counters, though some prepackaged meats are included in the recall.
State inspections
Virginia state inspectors found three recent violations of food safety rules at the cook tank where Boar’s Head Provision workers in Jarratt made liverwurst — the product linked to an outbreak of listeria infection that’s killed nine people, a Richmond Times-Dispatch investigation found.
Two of the violations, on two successive days, involved the same problem of too much moisture in the area of the cook tank at the plant in Greensville County, about an hour south of Richmond. These occurred two and three days before Maryland health officials found listeria in Boar’s Head
