The Jarratt, Virginia Boar’s Head plant linked to the ongoing multistate listeria outbreak is closing permanently, the company announced on Friday.
The deadly outbreak was first reported on July 19 by the CDC and was followed by a recall of 207,528 pounds of liverwurst by the company on July 26. Boar’s Head issued an expanded recall on July 30 to include every product made at the same Jarratt, Virginia facility where its liverwurst was produced, equating to about 7.2 million pounds.
At least 57 have been hospitalized as a result of the outbreak across 18 states, including nine deaths as of Aug. 28, according to the CDC investigation.
The human toll: His dad died from listeria tied to Boar’s Head meat. He needed to share his story.
Inspection records showed issues in the plant dating back to at least 2021, including reports of mold and mildew, insects, water leaks and other unsanitary conditions.
About 500 union workers are impacted by the closing, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 Union spokesman Jonathan Williams told USA TODAY. Additional employees in management were likely affected, too, but he was unsure how many were impacted, he said.