Boar’s Head Provision Co is shutting down the Jarratt, Virginia, plant that was the origin of a listeria infection outbreak resulting in 9 deaths and 57 hospitalizations, displacing 500 workers.
“Due to the severity of the outbreak, which originated at Jarratt, we have made the tough choice to indefinitely shut down this site, which has been non-operational since late July 2024,” stated Boar’s Head.
“Given the circumstances, we believe that plant closure is the most appropriate decision,” the company added.
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Approximately 500 union workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 union are impacted by the closure, as per Jonathan Williams, the union’s communications director. They are being offered transfers to other Boar’s Head facilities or negotiated severance packages with the union. Maintenance and sanitation workers represented by the union will remain during the plant shutdown and will receive the same options upon completion.
Above is an aerial view of the Boar’s Head processing plant in Jarratt that was linked to a deadly food poisoning outbreak.
The company ceased all operations at Jarratt in late July following Maryland authorities’ discovery of listeria in Boar’s Head liverwurst bought at a Baltimore store. This prompted Boar’s Head to recall the liverwurst and nine other products produced on the same line. The recall was expanded to all Jarratt products on July 29.
Health officials advise consumers and retailers to discard any of the recalled items purchased prior to July 31.
Boar’s Head stated that their investigation determined the contamination’s root cause to be a specific production process solely present at the Jarratt facility and used exclusively for liverwurst.
“Upon making this discovery, we have opted to permanently discontinue liverwurst,” announced the company.
“In light of the inspection records and noncompliance reports at the Jarratt plant, we accept full responsibility,” the company emphasized.
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 identified three recent violations of food safety rules at the cook tank where Boar’s Head Provision workers in Jarratt produced liverwurst — the product associated with a listeria outbreak causing nine fatalities, as discovered in a Richmond Times-Dispatch investigation.
Two of the violations, occurring on consecutive days, related to excessive moisture in the area of the cook tank at the plant in
