The notorious boar head factory to reopen a year after the Listeria epidemic which killed 10

The Boar’s Head plans to reopen a meat packaging factory in Jarratt, Virginia, which was the source of an epidemic of Listeria in 2024 which spoke badly of dozens of people and killed 10. The company had closed the factory indefinitely after Liverwurst was linked to death.

A shocking report of the New York Times shortly after the recall of the wild boar’s head explained that the plant had evidence of meat exposed to damp ceilings, an extended rust and the presence of green mold. But last month, the USDA raised a suspension on the capacity of the Virginia factory to operate after the food and inspection security service received evidence that it could operate in complete safety, according to the post.

The Associated Press published a new article last week that Boar’s head plants in other states had known sanitation problems similar to those found at the Jarratt factory in 2024 before the Listeria epidemic. The PA has obtained information through requests for freedom of information on wild boar plants in three states, which have found proofs of “meat and fat residues left on equipment and walls, drains blocked with meat products, pearl condensation on the ceilings and stages, overflowing garbage cans and the staff who did not wear places of protection networks and plastic addresses.”

The USDA non-compliance reports obtained by the AP come from January 1 to July 23 of this year, and also note that the staff did not wash their hands. The boar’s head plants are located in Forrest City, Arkansas; New Castle, Indiana; And Petersburg, Virginie. And the AP spoke with food security experts who said they were “surprised” that the boar’s head apparently did not solve its sanitation problems after such a deadly epidemic.

After the Listeria epidemic in 2024, Boar’s Head said it would create one “Boar‘S Head Food Safety Council“” Composed of “independent experts in advanced food security”, according to a press release from last year. But the company seemed less than ready to talk about problems in its facilities, to cancel even an interview with the AP, according to the information service. The AP was supposed to speak with Natalie Dyenson, the new food security agent of Boar’s Head, but that did not happen.

The New York Times described Boar’s head as a “secret”, given that the company’s own financial director could not appoint the CEO during a deposit in 2022. The private company made billions of dollars in annual income, but the two families that manage it, as Times said.

It is not clear when the jarratt factory can reopen. But a spokesperson for Boar’s Head told Gizmodo in a statement sent by email that the company had recently made “improvements”.

“The Boar’s Head has an unshakable commitment to the safety and quality of food. This commitment is reflected in recent improvements in our practices and protocols, which you can read in the readings of the declaration. “We have also worked with the USDA in the development of a plan to reopen our Jarratt installation in a measured and deliberate manner in the coming months. »»

The USDA did not immediately answer questions about the reopening of the factory on Friday afternoon. Gizmodo will update this article if we hear.