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August 30th, 2024

Blood puddles, mold, tainted meat, bugs: Boar's Head inspections are horrifying

Federal inspections at Boar's Head's Virginia facility found 69 violations related to a Listeria outbreak causing nine deaths and 57 illnesses. The facility remains closed pending safety compliance.

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Blood puddles, mold, tainted meat, bugs: Boar's Head inspections are horrifying

Federal inspections at Boar's Head's meat facility in Jarratt, Virginia, revealed 69 violations linked to a Listeria outbreak that has resulted in nine deaths and 57 illnesses across 18 states. The inspections, conducted between August 2023 and August 2024, documented unsanitary conditions including mold, water leaks, dirty equipment, and insect infestations. Notably, inspectors found blood puddles, heavy meat buildup, and various bugs, indicating a high risk for contamination by Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that can cause severe illness, particularly in vulnerable populations. The facility has been shut down since late July after the outbreak strain was detected in unopened liverwurst containers. Despite the alarming findings, the USDA has not taken enforcement actions against Boar's Head. The company is currently investigating the contamination and has stated it will not resume operations until it meets safety standards.

- Boar's Head facility faced 69 violations linked to a Listeria outbreak.

- The outbreak has resulted in nine deaths and 57 illnesses across 18 states.

- Inspections revealed unsanitary conditions, including blood puddles and insect infestations.

- The facility has been shut down since late July after Listeria was found in liverwurst.

- Boar's Head is conducting an investigation and will not reopen until safety standards are met.

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Bugs, mold, mildew found in Boar's Head plant linked to deadly listeria outbreak

Bugs, mold, mildew found in Boar's Head plant linked to deadly listeria outbreak

A USDA investigation found health violations at a Boar's Head plant in Virginia linked to a listeria outbreak, resulting in 57 hospitalizations and nine deaths, prompting a recall of deli meats.

Link Icon 20 comments
By @beloch - 8 months
"We are conducting an extensive investigation, working closely with the USDA and government regulatory agencies, as well as with the industry’s leading food safety experts, to determine how our liverwurst produced at our Jarratt, Virginia facility was adulterated and to prevent it from happening again..."

It's pretty clear the failure was with management. They didn't enforce basic standards of cleanliness. If the whole company isn't shut down, their facilities should be inspected frequently to ensure they are compliant with health regulations.

By @neilv - 8 months
> For instance, on June 10, an inspector entered the "pickle vat pump room" and noted "heavy meat buildup" on the walls, which were also crawling with flies and gnats.

I haven't seen much upside from going vegetarian, but at least I don't have to worry about accidentally eating food from a place like the above.

By @mrbonner - 8 months
We can go back to read the Jungle by Upton now. Something never changes.
By @OutOfHere - 8 months
The US has ceased to remain a first world country. It is not a third world country yet, but it's getting there. Corruption and self-interest at all levels of government has supplanted the pursuit of becoming a better nation. It remains to be seen whether this extreme rise of self-interest at the expense of the collective/national/global/cosmic interest ultimately succeeds or fails.
By @aceazzameen - 8 months
This bums me because we really enjoyed Boar's Head meats. And they were always so expensive too! This furthers my distrust of anything corporate and the never ending greed. We're done with BH and will stick to locally sourced deli meat as an occasional treat. Mostly we'll just avoid deli meats altogether because it's healthier to.
By @nikolay - 8 months
Let's not forget the constant E. coli and Salmonella cases of food poisoning on veggies, so, vegans, please, don't even start this! As an omnivore, I've always stayed off Boar's Head, because they were questionable even 20 years ago, when I first saw there stuff at Persian stores in Orange County, California!
By @msie - 8 months
Privatizing safety: https://x.com/kiswanson/status/1829221009486163968?s=46&t=Hx...
By @mikewarot - 8 months
Clearly we need to put all food inspection reports online in the US.
By @eth0up - 8 months
Blood puddles, mold, tainted meat, bugs, wanton violence and market research. It was just another day at the office for Ralph, who was finding it difficult to sit in his tattered chair, the pinworm infection peaking from a recent diet of vending machine snacks and the bottom-shelf gin within his thermos. It was time to replace a nicotine patch, the one on the other arm was still good, but the left was stale and soaked in sweat. When he found himself immersed in ideations of regulators in place of the carcases entering the hissing, gurgling transglutaminizer, particularly those who enacted the smoking ban, it was time for another patch, and a shot too. He swatted a fly with resignation, a futile gesture in the chamber of carion that was his bread and butter, his job at Boar's Head.
By @tptacek - 8 months
I'm sure it's bad, but the article isn't providing (unless I missed it) the crucial bit of information needed to evaluate this story, which is how these inspection results depart from the norm, which may also frequently be gnarly (agriculture is gnarly and gets gnarlier as it scales), but has not repeatedly generated listeria outbreaks.
By @aziaziazi - 8 months
Meanwhile in France, "ecological transition" minister just quietly double [0] the animal number threshold to be considered intensive breeding. Date the bill were presented : the day after a big gouvernement buzz.

Non-intensive breeders are considered trustful here and their odd to face an official control in a lifetime are around 33% (the control is booked, not surprise visit).

Now, small business breeders can raise up to 85000 chickens.

0 (fr) https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000049690143

By @grugagag - 8 months
I’ve seen once how commercial cold cuts are being produced. I never want to try those again, it’s absolutley nauseating.
By @zeitgeistcowboy - 8 months
This is disappointing. I thought Boar’s Head was the high quality stuff.
By @aklemm - 8 months
The MBAs must not be made to read The Jungle as undergrads any more.
By @hanniabu - 8 months
Can't say I'm surprised given the company
By @m4tthumphrey - 8 months
Man, I love being a vegetarian.
By @BuckYeah - 8 months
Ha! The age old vegetarian/vegan joke is too real
By @sandspar - 8 months
It sounds horrifying but it's hard to tell how much more horrifying it is than the average meat processing plant. They're big, complex, dirty facilities at the best of times. I've never seen the inside of a meat processing plant. Presumably the journalist hasn't either. The situation is bad, yes (69 violations in a year). But I don't know exactly how bad. Overall I'm thankful for the guys who work in these places so that the rest of us can keep our eyes averted from death.