Democrats call for DOJ intervention in Boar’s Head listeria outbreak

Two Democrats are urging the Department of Justice to get involved with the fallout of a nationwide listeria outbreak linked to a Boar’s Head plant. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) asked the Department of Agriculture to work closely with the DOJ to determine whether to bring criminal charges against Boar’s Head for its responsibility in the outbreak, which has caused 10 deaths and dozens of hospitalizations across the country. 

“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,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter sent Thursday to DOJ and USDA officials.  

The outbreak has resulted in 59 hospitalizations across 19 states, and Boar’s Head has linked it to liverwurst deli meat produced at its plant in Jarratt, Va. The company said it would indefinitely close the plant and discontinue liverwurst permanently.  

USDA inspectors warned conditions at the Boar’s Head plant posed an “imminent threat to public health” as early as 2022, according to The New York Times, but there was no action taken by Boar’s Head or federal regulators.  

Blumenthal and DeLauro said the inaction by USDA was “baffling” and “allowed Boar’s Head to put profits over people.” 

“It is painfully clear that by choosing not to aggressively ensure that safety standards were being followed, the USDA failed to uphold its congressional mandate,” the lawmakers wrote. “Years of inadequate response have led to safety conditions within the plant that are impossible to remedy easily, and as a result, Boar’s Head recently decided to indefinitely shut down the plant, potentially leaving hundreds of workers in a small town unemployed.” 

The Democrats also called on the USDA to initiate reforms and enhance its oversight to prevent similar situations from happening at other facilities. Among other practices, they said the agency should revisit its regulations requiring establishments to test for listeria in the processing environment and consider ways to strengthen those requirements, 

“We cannot let large corporations get away with endangering public health,” the lawmakers wrote. “Boar’s Head must be held accountable, those impacted by this crisis deserve more than an apology, they deserve justice.”