More than 300 locations in Virginia sold a tainted liverwurst meat paste responsible for nine deaths nationwide due to a deadly Listeria outbreak.
The liverwurst, produced at the Boar’s Head processing plant in Jarratt, was sold at numerous locations throughout the state including Giant, Harris Teeter, Kroger, Martins, Publix, Target and Total Wine stores.
Locations in Staunton, Waynesboro, Harrisonburg, Lexington and Charlottesville were on the retailer list released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The retail list included:
- Kroger in Staunton, Charlottesville and Lexington
- Martins in Staunton, Waynesboro and Harrisonburg
- Giant in Charlottesville
- Harris Teeter in Charlottesville
The full list of retailers is available online.
To date, nine people are dead and 57 people have been hospitalized due to Listeria monocytogenes infections, according to the last update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Virginia, an 88-year-old man from Newport News died from the deadly strain on July 18. His family recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the deli-meat company.
The CDC reports that four people in Virginia have gotten sick from the tainted meat. Virginia ranks fourth among states reporting hospitalizations. New York (17), Maryland (8) and New Jersey (5) top the list.
Listeria is a hardy germ that can remain on surfaces, like meat slicers and foods, even at refrigerated temperatures. It can take up to 10 weeks for some people to develop Listeriosis after consuming the tainted meat. It usually takes three to four weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.
Sell-by dates on the product extend until October. Boar’s Head recalled more than 7 million pounds of ready-to-meat and poultry products after the Listeria strain was traced to the Greensville County plant. However, it is possible that the tainted meat was purchased before the recall and remains in consumers’ refrigerators.
The Virginia plant has been temporarily shut down and is being sanitized due to the outbreak with infections reported in 18 states. In addition to Virginia, deaths have been reported in Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, Illinois and New Jersey.
Inspection reports from the plant showed a history of unsanitary conditions in processing areas and coolers. Issues documented in the reports include meat build-up on equipment, overspray on walls, pieces of meat on the floor, blood in puddles on the floor, rancid odors, flies, gnats, cobwebs, green mold and black mold on walls.
This is the largest Listeriosis outbreak since 2011, according to the CDC. On average, 260 people in the United States die from Listeria each year.
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Crystal Graham
