Boar’s Head plants nationwide now part of law enforcement investigation, USDA says

Boar’s Head processing plants nationwide are now part of an ongoing law enforcement investigation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture disclosed Thursday, in the wake of a deadly outbreak blamed on some of the company’s now-recalled deli meats. 

At least 59 hospitalizations and 10 deaths have been linked to a listeria strain traced back to Boar’s Head products distributed from a now-shuttered plant the company ran in Virginia. 

“We take very seriously matters of public health and corporate accountability, and an investigation into this matter remains underway and ongoing,” a spokesperson for the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said in a statement.

That Boar’s Head plant in Virginia had been written up dozens of times by inspectors over violations, CBS News first reported in August, based on records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Violations flagged at the plant by agriculture officials included mold and insects found throughout the site. 

FSIS disclosed the existence of the probe in a letter on Thursday, when it denied a CBS News request for records on Boar’s Head’s other plants in Michigan, Arkansas and Indiana.

Since the records are being “compiled for law enforcement purposes,” public records officials for FSIS said releasing them “could hinder the government’s ability to further control and shape the investigation.”

“Given the ongoing investigation related to this matter, FSIS is withholding 93 pages in full,” they wrote. 

The disclosure comes the same day as a letter by Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, both Connecticut Democrats, to the USDA and the Department of Justice, urging them to consider criminal charges against the company.

“The time for action is long overdue, and we urge your agencies to work together to seek immediate justice for impacted consumers and to prevent this from happening again,” they wrote.

It is unclear whether the law enforcement probe is a criminal or civil investigation. An FSIS spokesperson said they were limited in the details they could share about an active investigation.

A Boar’s Head spokesperson declined to comment, saying the company does not comment on legal matters.

In addition to an investigation of “Boar’s Head establishments across the country,” the FSIS statement said the agency is also doing a “top-to-bottom review” to look for lessons learned for public health in the wake of the outbreak.

“We are also placing particular focus on state inspection models, including where policy changes are needed to prevent oversight gaps,” the statement said.

The USDA had outsourced the majority of its duties at the Boar’s Head plant in Virginia to state inspectors, CBS News previously reported, through a decades-old agreement drawn up to handle federal oversight at rural facilities.

“Despite the closure, FSIS’ investigation into factors that contributed to this outbreak, including but not limited to an in-depth look at other Boar’s Head facilities, will continue in the interest of best protecting public health,” said the spokesperson.