Inspection Reports from Boar’s Head’s Other Plants

After filthy conditions were discovered at the plant where meat linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak was produced, the Boar’s Head’s facility in Jarratt, VA was permanently closed. But Boar’s Head’s other locations have also had food safety violations, according to inspection reports obtained by Food Poisoning Bulletin through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

At Boar’s Head plants in Forrest City, Arkansas; New Castle, Indiana;  and Petersburg, Virginia inspectors found some of the same conditions discovered at the Jarratt plant – mold, slime, pools of blood on the floor, meat buildup on equipment, walls, and doors and insects dead and alive.

Boar’s Head Petersburg, Virginia  

Some violations inspectors found at the Boar’s Head Plant in Petersburg, Virginia include:

• Heavy accumulation of meat juice, congealed meat juice, chunks of meat on food contact surfaces
• Product residue on walls, floors, and equipment in numerous areas
• A 4-foot patch of black mold on the ceiling
• Pipes with black mold buildup
• Sacling paint on walls
• Rusty equipment
• Puddles of blood, debris, and trash on the floor of a cooler
• Green mold on shelves
• Moss-like growth on the walls
• Mold on the walls
• Holes in doors
• Insects dead and alive

Boar’s Head Forrest City, Arkansas

• Meat buildup on equipment
• Condensate dripping onto finished product
• Walls and floors in a state of disrepair

Boar’s Head New Castle, Indiana

• Meat buildup on equipment, walls doors
• Walls “filthy with” protein, dirt, blood and grime
• Sticky substance on (food contact) conveyor
• Brown/green/pink buildup on floor
• Rusty equipment
• Sagging ceiling
• Large beetle in cooler
• Dripping condensate

Boar’s Head Listeria Outbreak

In 2024, a 19-state Listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head liverwurst and other deli-sliced meat sickened 61 people killing 10 of them. The outbreak patients developed symptoms of a Listeria infection after eating deli-sliced meats purchased from various grocery stores between May 29, 2024, and September 13, 2024. 

All of the patients, who ranged in age from 32 to 95, were hospitalized. Ten people died. One patient was pregnant when she became ill and remained pregnant after recovering from her Listeria infection.

After illnesses were linked to Boar’s Head liverwurst, inspectors working on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) went to the Jarratt, Virginia plant where the product was made. They found dozens of food safety violations including water dripping from the ceiling, water, and animal blood pooling on the floor, meat build-up on machinery, foul odors, dead and live insects, mold, rusty equipment, doors, walls, and ceilings in a state of disrepair.

The Jarratt plant has been permanently closed and Boar’s Head no longer makes liverwurst.

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.