USDA refuses to answer questions about Boar’s Head production plant and inspections

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is refusing to answer questions about the inspectors and testing results involved in the Boar’s Head deli meats outbreak that has killed nine people.

The Listeria outbreak has sickened at least 57 people across 18 states. All of the patients have been so sick that they required hospitalization. Laboratory testing has shown that Boar’s Head deli meats are contaminated with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes.

Boar’s Head has recalled more than 7 million pounds of deli meats in response to the outbreak. There is concern that consumers may still have some of the recalled products in their homes because best-by dates extend into October.

Food Safety News asked the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to release the names of the inspectors and the qualifications of FSIS’s Virginia Contracted employees to perform inspections at the Boar’s Head production plant in Virginia.

We also asked the FSIS for information on how frequently inspectors were at the Boar’s Head plant in Virginia and who they report to. 

The FSIS responded, in entirety, with the following statement:

“FSIS’ investigation into this outbreak is ongoing. Any death related to foodborne illness is one too many, and we are taking this public health matter very seriously. The agency has suspended inspection at the Boar’s Head facility in Jarratt, Virginia, which means the facility remains closed until and unless we are confident that they can produce safe food. In addition to taking a holistic look at Boar’s Head establishments across the country, our investigation will include a top-to-bottom review to determine contributing factors that led to the outbreak at this particular facility, what needs to be improved, and if there are lessons learned that could be more broadly applied to ready-to-eat meat and poultry facilities.”

This week The New York Times published a news story outlining how the Boar’s Head production plant in Virginia had been inspected as long as two years ago and received comments about an “imminent threat” from inspectors.

Food Safety News also asked the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service the following questions, but did not receive answers:

·       Who reviews the inspections?

·       How quickly are reports written and submitted after the inspections?

·       Who manages corrective action procedures? Is this done by the Virginia office, or federal FSIS, or both?

·       Are the corrective actions resolved through an objective and verified process.

·       Did the plant send photos or document the corrective actions and have an inspector or their boss sign off on it?

·       Where is the inspection data managed, and is the data managed so FSIS can see food safety risks and trends?

·       Is there a time stamp on report data?

·       Is there an ability for corrective actions to be tracked within the system?

·       Is there unique identification for who approves reports, corrective actions, etc?

Food Safety News also asked the USDA to provide information about testing and corrective actions at the plant but did not receive answers.

·       Where are the test results stored?

·       Who has access to them?

·       Who makes decisions on correcting actions?

·       Where are the results of corrective actions?

·       Is this data easy to analyze for food safety risks and trends?

·       Can FSIS shut down a facility for being unsanitary? Does the Virginia State Contracted FSIS have the authority to shut down a facility for being unsanitary?

·       If yes, why wasn’t this plant shut down earlier? Was it not “unsanitary enough”?  If this is not bad enough to shut down, what is?

·       If no, who has the authority to shut a plant down? 

·       What is the process to get the information to that department?

·       Why wasn’t that done for this Boar’s Head facility?

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