A sample taken from a sick patient on May 29, 2024, turned out to be the first case. Nobody knew it then. The outbreak of listeriosis tied to Boar’s Head deli meats would not become public until July, and by the time the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared it over on November 21, at least 10 people had died and 60 had been hospitalized.
The CDC announced its investigation on July 19. By then 28 people were in hospital and two had died. The illnesses were broadly linked to sliced deli meats such as turkey, liverwurst and ham.
How the source was found
Investigators at the Maryland Department of Health interviewed sick patients in the state. All were elderly, and all, it turned out, had eaten liverwurst. The department tested liverwurst from a supermarket in Baltimore and found Listeria in a package of Boar’s Head Strassburger Brand Liverwurst.
Boar’s Head recalled 207,528 pounds of liverwurst and other products on July 26. Four days later it widened the recall to more than 7 million pounds of meat made at its plant in Jarratt, Virginia, covering 71 products. Some had been exported. The company said it would suspend production of some items at the plant.
What inspectors had written down
The plant’s paper trail was ugly. Federal inspectors logged 69 regulatory violations there between August 2023 and August 2024, and noted black mold, mildew, insects, blood pooling on the floor and foul odors.
Warnings went back further. Inspectors from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, working on behalf of the US Department of Agriculture, raised concerns in 2022. Their reports spoke of “major deficiencies” and an “imminent threat,” and described mold, damp conditions and rust. The plant kept running.
Food safety experts did not hold back afterward. Barbara Kowalcyk of George Washington University called the plant’s condition “honestly shocking” in a September 2024 Washington Post interview. She said she “cannot understand why they didn’t take action.” Neal Fortin, who directs the Institute for Food Laws & Regulations at Michigan State University, told the New York Times that the company’s approach, built on sanitation and Listeria testing, fell short of more advanced industry methods.
Closure and the USDA report
On September 13 Boar’s Head announced it would close the Jarratt plant permanently and drop liverwurst altogether. About 500 workers were offered transfers to other company sites or severance. Their union, UFCW Local 400, said “this unprecedented tragedy was not the fault of the workforce.” A wrongful death lawsuit had already been filed on September 3 by the family of an 88-year-old man who died.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service published its report on January 10, 2025. It found that “inadequate sanitation practices” at the plant contributed to the outbreak. Inspectors described meat and fat residue from the previous day’s production on equipment, condensation dripping onto exposed product, and cracked, broken flooring that could hold moisture. The report also reviewed the agency’s own practices, and listed updated training and tools for inspectors, so they can recognize and respond to systemic food safety problems, among its steps.
According to NPR, the outbreak reached more than 19 states and was the largest of its kind since 2011. Listeriosis is especially hard on pregnant people, newborns, older adults and people with weakened immune systems. Anyone in those groups who is worried about something they ate should talk to a doctor.
Sources
- 2024 United States listeriosis outbreak – Wikipedia
- USDA report finds Boar's Head listeria outbreak was due to poor sanitation practices
