USDA launches internal investigation into handling of Boar’s Head inspections

The USDA Inspector General has launched an internal investigation into the agency’s handling of problems at a Boar’s Head production plant linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture handled the situation at the deli meat production plant as an “abject failure.” He requested the investigation on Sept. 5.

“USDA took virtually no action — allowing Boar’s Head to continue business as usual at its chronically unsanitary Virginia plant — despite finding repeated serious violations. The Virginia plant should have been shut down years ago before people got sick or died from Listeria. The IG investigation is a vital first step to assure accountability and prevent such deadly mistakes from happening again,” Blumenthal, D-CT, said in an announcement of the investigation.

The outbreak has sickened 59 people across 19 states and killed 10. The company has closed the Jarratt, VA plant and permanently stopped liverwurst production nationwide. Boar’s Head recalled more than 7 million pounds of deli meats because of the outbreak.

Inspector General Phyllis Fong will review the actions of Virginia state inspectors whom USDA had contracted with to determine whether they responded appropriately to dozens of reports of problems at the production plant. 

The problems violated food safety regulations and posed an imminent danger to public health. Records show the problems dated back at least two years.

Blumenthal did not release the agency’s response to him but said that the internal investigation would evaluate the handling of recurrent problems and whether state inspections properly reduced the risk of tainted products entering the food supply. 

“The IG investigation announced today will determine if proper corrective and enforcement actions for reported noncompliances at the Boar’s Head plant were implemented and if the agency has an effective process to identify, elevate, and address recurring noncompliances reported at state-inspected establishments to reduce the risk of adulterated products from entering the food supply,” Blumenthal said.

In addition to the request for an internal investigation, Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, on Sept. 26 asked USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to work closely on determining whether to bring criminal charges against Boar’s Head owners for their responsibility in the outbreak. The pair also asked the USDA to strengthen its Listeria prevention protocols ind investigate other Boar’s Head locations for safety violations.

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has declined to release documents regarding the agency’s inspections and enforcement actions at the Jarratt plant and reports from other factories, saying that they relate to an ongoing law enforcement investigation.

Boar’s Head is a private company owned by the Brunckhorst and Bischoffs families. It was founded in 1905 in Brooklyn, NY. External estimates place its annual sales at between $1 billion and $3 billion.

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