USDA launches internal investigation into handling of deadly Boar's Head listeria outbreak

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's inspector general has opened an investigation into the USDA's handling of violations reported at the Virginia Boar’s Head plant linked to a multi-state listeria outbreak, a member of Congress said Tuesday.

UDSA Inspector General Phyllis Fong is opening an investigation into how the agency handled the reports of "noncompliances" at the plant in Jarratt, Virginia, filed by inspectors with the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in the months prior to the listeria outbreak, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a news release Tuesday.

Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D, Conn., last month called on the USDA and Justice Department to strengthen USDA's listeria prevention protocols and to consider criminal charges against Boar's Head.

Since late July, when Boar's Head issued a recall for liverwurst and other ready-to-eat deli meats due to potential listeria contamination, at least 59 people have been hospitalized and 10 died, across 19 states, in the outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Senator: USDA 'took virtually no action' at Boar's Head plant

The Inspector General's office did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY. But signs were beginning to emerge that the outbreak had likely spurred an investigation of some sort.

In late September, multiple requests by USA TODAY for FSIS records under the Freedom of Information Act were denied citing an exemption that protects from the disclosure of “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes."

Blumenthal contacted the inspector general with a letter last month decrying the USDA's oversight, saying he was "alarmed" at how the plant had "repeatedly violated federal regulations." Boar's Head closed the plant Sept. 13 but "the situation should have never been allowed to escalate to this level of severity," Blumenthal said in the letter.

Insects, mold, mildew among violations in Boar's Head reports

Inspection reports revealed that USDA inspectors found insects, mold and mildew and other violations at the Boar's Head plant over the previous year. Subsequently, additional USDA inspection reports dating back two years before the outbreak, revealed leaks and condensation above meat racks and other violations at the Jarratt plant.

“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," Blumenthal said in the release. "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.”

The investigation "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 the release.

Blumenthal and DeLauro had also contacted Attorney General Merrick Garland and USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack about whether to bring criminal charges against Boar's Head "for their responsibility in this crisis," they said in a letter dated Sept. 26. "In this particular case, the USDA should also consider conducting vigorous inspections of all Boar’s Head facilities to ensure that the practices at the Jarratt plant have not been replicated at other locations," they wrote.

Several lawsuits have since been filed against Boar's Head in the wake of the outbreak, including a wrongful death suit on behalf of the family of a Holocaust survivor who died as a result of eating contaminated liverwurst.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Boar's Head recall leads to USDA investigation of listeria outbreak