Boar's Head plans to reopen the Jarratt, Virginia, facility at the center of a deadly Listeria outbreak last year despite federal inspections continuing to find sanitation violations at three of the food company's other facilities, according to federal records obtained by the Associated Press.
The AP obtained 35 pages of inspection reports via a Freedom of Information Act Request. Those reports cover inspections between January 1 and July 23 at three other Boar's Head facilities: Forrest City, Arkansas; New Castle, Indiana; and Petersburg, Virginia. Overall, the reports reveal a suite of violations, including mold, condensation dripping over food areas, overflowing trash, meat and fat residue built up on walls and equipment, drains blocked with meat scraps, and pooling meat juice. The reports also recorded staff who didn't wear the proper protective hairnets and aprons—and didn't wash their hands.
In one violation, reported in the Petersburg facility, inspectors found meat waste collecting under equipment, including "5-6 hams, 4 large pieces of meat and a large quantity of pooling meat juice."
The problems echo the sanitation violations recorded at the Jarratt plant before contamination with Listeria—particularly linked to the company's liverwurst—caused an outbreak that led officials to shut it down. That outbreak spanned July to November of last year and sickened 61 people across 19 states, hospitalizing 60 and killing 10. Inspection reports revealed problems with mold, water leaks, dirty equipment and rooms, meat debris stuck on walls and equipment, various bugs, and, at one point, puddles of blood on the floor.
Amid the outbreak response, Boar's Head vowed to make big changes to improve its food safety systems. Those included setting up a panel of food safety advisers, which included Frank Yiannas, a former Food and Drug Administration official, and Mindy Brashears, who served as Trump’s US Department of Agriculture undersecretary for food safety in his first term and has been nominated for the position again in his second.
“Not completely under control”
The USDA, which shut down the Jarratt plant last September, told the AP that the plant was cleared for reopening on July 18. “The facility is in full compliance of the guidelines and protocols set for the safe handling and production of food and the serious issues that led to suspension have been fully rectified,” officials with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service told the AP in an email.
But the new inspection reports for other Boar's Head facilities raise questions about the company's commitment to food safety. And the company has not been forthcoming about its work. The AP reported that Boar's Head canceled a scheduled interview, refused to discuss the inspection reports, and declined to let Yiannas detail the findings of his internal investigation on the company's contamination woes.
"Boar’s Head has an unwavering commitment to food safety and quality," the company said in a statement. "That commitment is reflected in recent enhancements to our practices and protocols," which are listed on the company's website.
"We have also been working with the USDA in developing a plan to reopen our Jarratt facility in a measured, deliberate way in the coming months," Boar's Head said.
Barbara Kowalcyk, who directs the Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University, told the AP that the inspection reports reveal a "food safety culture problem."
Kowalcyk advised that consumers, particularly older people who are more vulnerable to foodborne threats like Listeria infections, should be cautious. "I think they need to be aware that there are issues at this organization that still are not completely under control, apparently," she said.
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