This sign marks the entrance of the Boar's Head processing plant in Jarratt, Virginia, that was tied to a deadly food poisoning outbreak.AP
A Boar’s Head plant that produced deli meat in Virginia will cease operations after a deadly listeria outbreak affected several states.
The company announced Friday it will shut down the Jarratt, Virginia, plant and would be taking several steps to bolster food safety among its products.
“Our investigation has identified the root cause of the contamination as a specific production process that only existed at the Jarratt facility and was used only for liverwurst. With this discovery, we have decided to permanently discontinue liverwurst,” Boar’s Head stated in a press release Friday.
The Boar’s Head plant in Virginia had been closed since July, when the company first announced the recall of more than 200,000 deli meats.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has reports from the facility being rife with insects, “blood in puddles on the floor,” mold and more since 2022.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said nine people have died and 57 people were hospitalized in 18 states as a result of the listeria outbreak.
In addition to not producing liverwurst, Boar’s Head said it would appoint a food safety officer and independent food safety experts to an advisory board to oversee a companywide food safety program.