DeLauro Leads Letters to Boar’s Head, USDA Questioning Listeria Outbreak

Today, U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro led her colleagues in sending two bicameral letters to Boar's Head and the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) questioning how the Boar's Head plant at the center of a nationwide Listeria outbreak was allowed to keep operating despite over 60 citations for noncompliance and U.S. inspectors warning "that conditions at [the] Boar's Head plant posed an 'imminent threat' to public health" two years prior to the outbreak.

In the letter to Boar's Head, DeLauro and lawmakers demanded answers to better understand how the outbreak was allowed to occur and how the company has committed to preventing outbreaks in the future.

"These conditions show a complete disregard for food safety and for the public health of the American people," the lawmakers wrote. "As a company that operates within the United States and sells to American consumers, you have an obligation to protect public health and prepare and sell food that meets safety standards. With the science we have available, there is no excuse for the tragic loss of life that has occurred as a result of this outbreak."

In the letter to USDA's FSIS, the lawmakers slammed the agency's lax oversight that led to the outbreak and subsequent plant closure. They demanded answers as to how the plant was allowed to continue operations despite repeated infractions that created ripe conditions that led to product contamination and the outbreak of dangerous pathogens like Listeria.

"This outbreak could have and should have been prevented," the lawmakers wrote. "What is especially troubling is how egregious sanitation problems occurred despite supposed regular oversight; oversight which typically includes at least one inspection per shift… It is appalling that seemingly no enforcement actions have been taken against Boar's Head despite the reported repeated records of major noncompliance"

You can read the full letter to Boar's Head here. You can read the full letter to USDA here.