It’s time for the top outbreak list for 2024. This year, the number 10 outbreak is the deadly Boars Head meat Listeria monocytogenes outbreak. There were at least 61 people sick in 19 states. And ten people died.
The final case count by state was: Arizona (1), Florida (3), Georgia (2), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Louisiana (1), Maryland (8), Massachusetts (3), Minnesota (1), Missouri (3), New Jersey (6), New Mexico (1), New York (19), North Carolina (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (2), Tennessee (1), Virginia (4), and Wisconsin (1). Illness onset dates ranged from May 29, 2024 to September 13, 2024. Sixty people were hospitalized.
In this outbreak, one person got sick during a pregnancy and remained pregnant after recovering. The people who died lived in Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, and New Mexico. Two were from New York and two lived in South Carolina.
An inspection at the Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt, Virginia revealed terrible conditions. Some of the problems found by inspectors included insect infestation, buildup on scales with a mud like substance and an obvious odor, “ample amounts of blood in puddles” on the floor, black mold, a rancid smell, and meat on the floor.
The USDA’s Inspector General opened an investigation into the outbreak and the conditions at the plant. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said in a statement, “I welcome the Inspector General heeding my call for investigation of USDA’s abject failure to protect consumers against fatally contaminated Boar’s Head products. USDA took virtually no action—allowing Boar’s Head to continue business as usual at its chronically unsanitary Virginia plant—despite finding repeated serious violations. The Virginia plant should have been shut down years ago before people got sick or died from Listeria. The IG investigation is a vital first step to assure accountability and prevent such deadly mistakes from happening again.” The plant was closed in September 2024.
If you ate any Boar’s Head deli meat product that was recalled and have been ill with the symptoms of listeriosis, see your doctor. You may be part of this deadly Boar’s Head meat Listeria monocytogenes outbreak.
If you have been sickened with a food poisoning infection, please contact our experienced attorneys for help with a possible lawsuit at 1-888-377-8900 or text us at 612-261-0856. Our firm represents clients in lawsuits against grocery stores, restaurants, and food processors, and families in wrongful death cases.
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