USDA Investigating Deadly Boar’s Head Listeria Outbreak, Senator Says

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will investigate the listeria outbreak from Boar’s Head deli meats that has killed at least 10 people across the country, according to Sen. Richard Blumenthal. The senator, who first called for an investigation more than a month ago, confirmed this “vital first step” in a news release on Tuesday. At least 59 people have been hospitalized across 19 states since the outbreak was first reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control’s most recent data. Records from the company’s plant in Virginia detailed dozens of cases of “noncompliance,” the Associated Press reported, including buildup of mold and insects on the ceilings and meat and fat residue on the facility’s floors and machinery. “USDA took virtually no action—allowing Boar’s Head to continue business as usual at its chronically unsanitary Virginia plant—despite finding repeated serious violations,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “The Virginia plant should have been shut down years ago before people got sick or died from Listeria.” Blumenthal also called on the Justice Department to work with the USDA to look into criminal charges for the company.