Update on meat recall: Boar's Head factory closes due to listeria outbreak

Boar's Head is closing its Virginia deli meat plant amid a deadly listeria outbreak that has killed nine people nationwide.

In a statement posted on its website on Friday, the company said the Jarratt, Virginia, plant would be “closed indefinitely.” The company is also permanently halting production of liverwurst, which was identified as the main source of the contamination.

“We are saddened to be impacting the livelihoods of hundreds of hard-working employees,” the statement said about the plant closure. “We take our responsibilities as one of the region's largest employers very seriously. But under these circumstances, we believe that closing the plant is the most sensible course of action.”

Boar's Head first recalled its products in late July after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and health authorities traced the company's sausages to several listeria infections. Since then, 57 people in 18 states have been hospitalized due to the outbreak, and nine others have died.

Records released last month showed that government inspectors logged 69 cases of “non-compliance” at the Jarratt plant last year. Violations logged between August 2023 and 2024 included reports of “heavily discolored meat deposits” and “meat mist on walls and large pieces of meat on the floor.”

“In response to the inspection reports and reports of violations at the Jarratt plant, we will make no excuses,” the company said in a statement on Friday.

Boar's Head said it is also taking steps to improve food safety and quality measures in light of the outbreak, including appointing a new director of food safety and quality assurance who will report directly to the company's president.

Newsweek I have contacted Boar's Head via email for further comment.

Listeria infections are caused by a type of bacteria that often stays in the intestines and leads to food poisoning symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting. According to the CDC, listeria is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the United States, with about 1,600 infections and about 260 deaths occurring annually. Symptoms of the infection may appear soon after eating a contaminated product, but they may take up to 10 weeks to develop.

The relatives of an 88-year-old man who died after being diagnosed with listeria, allegedly linked to a Boar's Head product, have filed a wrongful-dealing lawsuit against the company. The victim, Gunter Morgenstein, is a Holocaust survivor and was diagnosed with listeria and sepsis in July after consuming a Boar's Head liverwurst product.

Ron Simon, the attorney for the Morgenstein family members, said in a statement: “Through this and other lawsuits, we will ensure that all listeria victims are fairly compensated for their losses. We will find out exactly how this happened and will force Boar's Head to ensure that this does not happen again.”