September 30, 2024
Posted by: OFT Food Safety & Injury Lawyers
On Monday September 30, 2024, the Washington Post published its investigation into the Boar’s Head Listeria outbreak, highlighting the systemic problems and warning signs at the company’s now-closed Jarratt, Virginia facility.
Drawing on more than two dozen interviews with former Boar’s Head managers; victims represented by OFT Law; public health officials and food safety experts, including OFT partner Brendan Flaherty; and USDA-FSIS documents, the story shows that the conditions at the plant were a ticking time bomb leading to the outbreak—one of the largest public health disasters in U.S. history.
The article traces the USDA-FSIS findings showing “major deficiencies” at the facility that could pose an “imminent threat” to consumers months and months before the outbreak.
According to the article, the findings included: “dirty” machinery, flies in pickle containers, “heavy meat buildup” on walls and blood in puddles on the floor.
Other noncompliance records included the following:
The Post’s reporters interviewed OFT client Ashley Solberg in detail about her harrowing experience of contracting Listeria while pregnant, as well as the family of a Holocaust survivor who perished because of Listeria in Boar’s Head products.
Despite the company’s poor sanitation and food safety practices, they continued to produce millions of pounds of product. Flaherty took issue with the failure of both the company and regulators to do their most important job: protect consumers.
“The reported violations at the Jarratt plant were “extreme and out of the ordinary,” said Brendan Flaherty, a Minneapolis personal injury lawyer who specializes in food safety cases and is representing several clients, including Solberg, pursuing legal action against Boar’s Head.
But Flaherty also pointed the finger at the regulatory system meant to keep food processing plants operating safely. Too often, he said, regulators defer to the companies they’re supposed to be monitoring.
The USDA expects companies to take a proactive look at noncompliance records, determine if they have a systemic problem and spend the money to fix it, Flaherty said. “And that just doesn’t happen in practice until people get sick or there’s a huge recall.”
Don’t wait until it is too late to discuss your rights after you suffer a bout of Listeria. You deserve to know the facts, who is responsible, and your options regarding compensation.
With decades of experience in the food safety field and millions of dollars recovered, our OFT Food Safety & Injury Lawyers have the skill and resources to handle any foodborne illness case.
Call 888.828.7087 today or contact us online. We handle food injury cases across the nation, offer 100% free, initial consultations, and there are never any fees unless you recover compensation.
Listeria is found in unpasteurized dairy, soft cheeses, deli meats, hot dogs, and refrigerated ready-to-eat foods.
Pregnant women, newborns, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk.
Symptoms can develop between seven to 70 days after exposure.
Mild cases often resolve on their own, but severe infections require antibiotics, especially for pregnant women.
Maintain clean kitchen surfaces, store food at safe temperatures, cook meats thoroughly, and avoid unpasteurized products.
