The Boar’s Head meat processing plant in Jarratt, Va., linked to the deaths of nine people from listeria infections, has been closed indefinitely, the company said. The company also faces multiple lawsuits.
The plant had been closed since July, when the company issued a recall for 7 million pounds of deli meat, suspected of being contaminated with listeria. In addition to the nine deaths attributed to the tainted deli meat, more than 50 people have been hospitalized in 18 states.
“We do not take lightly our responsibility as one of the area’s largest employers," the company said in a statement. “But, under these circumstances, we feel that a plant closure is the most prudent course.”
But the problems for Boar’s Head Provisions, the parent company, may be just beginning. The company already faces at least one wrongful death lawsuit. Most recently, Marler Clark, the food safety law firm, filed a $10,000,000 punitive damages claim on behalf of a woman who spent six days in the intensive care unit (ICU) after contracting listeria from Boar's Head Liverwurst.
Numerous citations for ‘noncompliance’
In fact, the Virginia plant has been on the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) radar screen almost constantly. FSIS inspects reported 69 cases of “noncompliance at the plant over the last 12 months, including the presence of mold, insects, liquid dripping from ceilings and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment.
"The years of inspection reports leave little doubt that the Boar's Head plant's food safety plan must have been non-existent, " said food safety attorney, Bill Marler. "It is hard to wrap your head around how food could be produced in these conditions by this company and under the gaze of FSIS inspectors," added Marler.
The law firm posted some of the inspection reports online.
Boar’s Head said it is appointing a new chief safety officer who will report directly to the company’s CEO. It also said it would set up a new “safety council” made up of independent industry experts.