Boar’s Head closes Virginia plant, discontinues liverwurst

Calling the past few months a “dark moment in our company’s history,” Sarasota-based meat provision company Boar’s Head announced a pair of big steps in its food contamination-listeria crisis: It’s permanently discontinuing liverwurst, the product contaminated with listeria, and it’s also indefinitely closing the Jarratt, Virginia, plant where the liverwurst was made. 

“Our investigation has identified the root cause of the contamination as a specific production process that only existed at the Jarratt facility and was used only for liverwurst,” the company says in a Friday afternoon statement. 

Closing the plant, which has not been operational since late July, will lead to several hundred layoffs, the company says. “It pains us to impact the livelihoods of hundreds of hard-working employees," the company says. “We do not take lightly our responsibility as one of the area’s largest employers. But, under the circumstances, we feel that a plant closure is the most prudent course. We will work to assist each of our employees in the transition process.” 

Boar’s Head first recalled liverwurst July 25 due to the potential for listeria; on July 30, it expanded the recall to include about 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that came from its facility in Jarratt, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who ingest the bacteria can become infected with listeriosis, which may cause muscle aches, flu-like symptoms, confusion, seizures, fever, loss of balance and headaches, according to the CDC. Listeriosis is especially dangerous for those over 65 and pregnant women.

The CDC previously reported 57 people were hospitalized across 18 states as of Aug. 27 due to the listeria outbreak. Nine deaths have been reported, including in Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee and Virginia as well as two in South Carolina. Those deaths led to multiple lawsuits — at least five spread from New York to Alabama to Sarasota. 

In the Friday note, Boar's Head, which maintains a headquarters in a downtown Sarasota office building, also disclosed the July 31 USDA notice of suspension for the Jarratt facility. 

“The wholesomeness of your product is directly dependent on the design and implementation of your sanitation program, adequate Listeria monocytogenes control measures and overall maintenance of your facility, including the sanitary procedures conducted in your food production,” the USDA report states. “Evidence demonstrates failure to comply with regulatory requirements…resulting in your establishment's producing and shipping adulterated products. As such, product may have been prepared, packed, or held under unsanitary conditions, whereby product may have become contaminated with filth or whereby product may have been rendered injurious to health.”

In addition to the closure of the plant and discontinuation of liverwurst, Boar’s Head says it’s “immediately implementing enhanced food safety and quality measures.” That list includes: appointing a new chief food safety & quality assurance officer who will report directly to the Boar’s Head president. “The company is recruiting now and aims to have this new executive begin as soon as possible,” the note states. 

The company also is establishing a Boar’s Head Food Safety Council, comprised of independent industry-leading food safety experts, some of whom, the company says, have been assisting with the current investigation at the Jarratt facility. 

"We understand the gravity of this situation and the profound impact it has had on affected families," the note states. "Comprehensive measures are being implemented to prevent such an incident from ever happening again...This is a dark moment in our company’s history, but we intend to use this as an opportunity to enhance food safety programs not just for our company, but for the entire industry."