The U.S. Agriculture Department found dozens of violations at a Boar’s Head plant in Virginia — including insects, mold and puddles of blood — that has been linked to a deadly listeria outbreak that has killed nine people, newly released records from the department show.
Agriculture Department officials logged 69 instances of noncompliance with federal regulations at the Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt from Aug. 1, 2023, through Aug. 2, 2024, according to documents CBS News obtained through federal Freedom of Information Act requests.
CBS News first reported the findings.
Nine people have died and 57 have been hospitalized after they ate Boar’s Head products contaminated with listeria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak has been reported in 18 states, and the deaths have been in Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico, South Carolina, Illinois, New Jersey and Virginia.
Boar’s Head recalled 7 million pounds of “ready-to-eat meat and poultry products” from the Jarratt plant on July 30 after genome sequencing tests in a liverwurst sample turned up positive for the strain of Listeria monocytogenes that has been linked to the multistate outbreak. That came days after an initial recall of more than 200,000 pounds of Boar’s Head products.
According to the documents, the Agriculture Department reported “heavy discolored meat build up” on a hydraulic pump in the plant and on the motor of an inspection line on Aug. 8, 2023, and again reported “heavy meat buildup” on walls of a room in the plant on June 10.
Flies were found “going in and out” of pickle vats on June 10, and “small flying gnat like insects were observed crawling on the walls and flying around the room.” The department reported a “steady line of ants” and “a presence of flying insects” in the same room, according to the documents. Also reported on the same day were “7 ladybugs, 1 beetle like insect, and 1 cockroach like insect.”
Insects both dead and alive were found in the plant on July 17 and again on July 25 in a smokehouse hallway that housed more than 980 pounds of ham.
A “black mold like substance” was discovered at the plant on Jan. 9, according to the documents, with some spots being “as large as a quarter.” Inspectors reported four more instances of finding mold, and in one case mildew, in the plant in June and July.
Multiple leaks were reported throughout the plant in the months of inspection, including a puddle that featured a “green algal growth” on July 17, according to the documents.
On Feb. 21, inspectors reported “ample amounts of blood in puddles on the floor” in a cooler that also produced a “rancid smell,” according to the documents.
A spokesperson for Boar’s Head said in a statement Thursday to NBC News that the company “deeply regret[s] the impact this recall has had on affected families.” The spokesperson added that food safety is the company’s “absolute priority.”
“As a USDA-inspected food producer, the agency has inspectors in our Jarratt, Virginia plant every day and if at any time inspectors identify something that needs to be addressed, our team does so immediately, as was the case with each and every issue raised by USDA in this report,” the statement said.
The spokesperson said that all operations at the Jarratt plant have been paused and that an investigation is underway into the “events leading to this recall.” The statement also said that the plant is being disinfected and that employees are receiving additional training.
It was not immediately clear whether Boar’s Head will face any penalties from the Agriculture Department for the reported noncompliances.
