Boar's Head shutters Virginia plant linked to listeria outbreak

• The company started recalling some 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products for possible listeria contamination in July.

Zoom in: An investigation "identified the root cause of the contamination as a specific production process that only existed at the Jarratt facility and was used only for liverwurst," the company said Friday.

• Boar's Head will permanently discontinue the product as a result.
• "Given the seriousness of the outbreak, and the fact that it originated at Jarratt, we have made the difficult decision to indefinitely close this location, which has not been operational since late July 2024," the company said in a statement.
• "It pains us to impact the livelihoods of hundreds of hard-working employees," it said. "But, under these circumstances, we feel that a plant closure is the most prudent course."

What they're saying: United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 Union, which represents workers at the plant, said Friday they've reached an agreement that provides some 500 members the option to be transferred to other Boar's Head facilities or to accept a severance package.

• "Everyone agrees this unprecedented tragedy was not the fault of the workforce, so it is especially unfortunate that the Jarratt plant must close indefinitely and put so many men and women out of work," the union said.

• "We appreciate the extraordinary efforts Boar's Head has made to keep our members on the job as long as possible and to ensure everyone is taken care of during this process."

The CDC recommends people check their homes for any remaining recalled Boar's Head products with "EST. 12612" or "P-12612" inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels.

• Some of the products have sell by dates into October 2024, per the agency.

Go deeper: Boar's Head recalls 7 million pounds of meat for listeria risk

Editor's note: The story has been updated with the number of workers affected.