Following requests from Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the Office of the Inspector General of the USDA has initiated an investigation into possible negligence by FSIS inspectors with respect to the Virginia Boar’s Head plant implicated in the extensive outbreak of listeriosis. To date, the outbreak has resulted in 59 hospitalizations and 10 fatalities with a considerably higher number infected from consuming liverwurst and possibly other products produced by Boar’s Head in the facility now shuttered.
At issue are reports documenting profound deviations from acceptable hygienic and operational procedures extending over a number of years before the outbreak. Apart from identifying those responsible for negligence, the FSIS will have to amend procedures to ensure that there is not a repetition.
The question arises as to how many other plants other than the implicated operation may be producing RTE products vulnerable to contamination with Listeria and other pathogens. Among other questions will be the relative responsibilities of FSIS and the personnel of the Virginia Department of Agriculture who participated in inspections.
Irrespective of the outcome of the USDA investigation, circumstances related to the outbreak will be the subject of legal discovery as numerous lawsuits have been filed as a result of illness and death.
Previous postings on EGG-NEWS and CHICK-NEWS relating to the outbreak can be retrieved by entering Boar’s Head in the Search block.