Food safety experts have criticized government health inspectors for allowing a listeria factory to operate despite numerous serious violations before a deadly outbreak was linked to contaminated Boar’s Head deli meats.
The company’s plant in Jarratt, Virginia, was found to have issues such as bugs, pools of blood on the floor, and growing mold over the past year, according to records from the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
These reports show this was as much a listeria factory as it was a meat factory, said food safety attorney Bill Marler. The government needs to explain what they were doing. Didn’t this raise enough concerns given the plant’s size?
At least nine people have died, including one in New York, and 57 have been hospitalized since officials traced the listeria outbreak to the Jarratt facility, according to the CDC. New York has been hit hardest, with 17 residents falling ill from the contaminated meats.
Inspectors found 69 instances of non-compliance at the plant. One inspector noted a rancid smell and puddles of blood on the floor during a February visit. Mold was spotted multiple times, and on June 10, an inspector saw flies near vats of pickle in the plant.
Experts like Lee-Ann Jaykus, a professor at North Carolina State University, said these conditions should have prompted more testing for listeria. Had I been an inspector, I would have insisted on aggressive testing for listeria given these risk factors, she said.
Boar’s Head recalled seven million pounds of deli meats and poultry products last month after the outbreak was detected. The company, which has since closed the Jarratt plant, is responsible for testing its facilities for listeria, but those test results were not available on the USDA’s website.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service claimed that Virginia state inspectors were responsible for monitoring the plant under a contract with the USDA. The plant will remain closed until it can prove it can produce safe food, according to an FSIS spokesperson.
Some food safety experts are skeptical of the USDA’s explanation. FSIS is trying to shift blame to Virginia, but ultimately, the federal agency is responsible, said one anonymous source.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services VDACS said its inspectors visit the plant daily and that the plant is required to take corrective actions for each violation. Despite these inspections, the Maryland Department of Health raised alarms in July after testing a sample of liverwurst that led to the Boar’s Head recalls.
The outbreak is the largest listeriosis incident since the 2011 cantaloupe outbreak. Some victims are preparing lawsuits, including the family of 88-year-old Gunter Morgenstein, who died after eating contaminated liverwurst. The family’s attorney plans to file a lawsuit against Boar’s Head this week.
Boar’s Head expressed deep regret for the impact of the recall, saying, “No words can fully express our sympathies and the sincere and deep hurt we feel for those who have suffered losses or endured illness.
Other victims, including the family of an Illinois resident who died and a 74-year-old Virginia woman who was in a coma, are also seeking legal action against the company. According to Marler, many people who get listeria may not be hospitalized, so the true number of affected individuals could be higher.
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