United States: An outbreak of listeria food poisoning associated with a record recall of popular Boar’s Head deli meats is now over, federal health officials declared on Thursday.
As many as ten people died, and sixty-one were infected by listeria in 19 states consuming Boar’s Head products like liverwurst.
More about the news
People got sick from late May to mid-September, as was discovered by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Listeria outbreaks are said to be over 60 days after the last incidence of illness, the CDC noted.
Besides, cutting and dicing deli items related to the outbreak have reached their sell-by date. Company officials of Boar’s Head shut down a production plant in Jarratt, Virginia, and decided not to continue the production of liverwurst after it had to recall over 7 million pounds of deli meats it had distributed across the country, ABC News reported.
Boar’s Head is set to receive more flak as the manufacturer endured about fifty reports of issues at this plant, such as mold, insects, dripping water, and tainted walls, floor, and equipment.
Investigations by the officials
The US Agriculture Department’s Office of Inspector General is currently investigating whether its agents, along with agents of the Virginia State Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Services, responded to these reports of serious issues.
The investigation was requested by Connecticut US Sen. Richard Blumenthal, whose staff said he had not been briefed on the findings of the investigation, ABC News reported.
It also has dozens of legal cases of people who are sick or their loved ones. Due to reporting transparency restrictions, top officials at the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service have declined to provide documents pertaining to the agency’s inspection and enforcement activities at the plant, as well as at eight other company plants across the United States.