Democratic lawmakers in Congress questioned whether the plant at the center of the deadly listeria outbreak in 2024 is fit to reopen, summoning Boar's Head officials to face a federal food safety committee.

In a letter to Boar’s Head dated Sept. 15, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, and nine other Democrats asked company officials to appear before the Congressional Food Safety Caucus. The congressional members, citing an Associated Press report that the Jarratt, Virginia, plant is reopening in the coming months, requested the meeting with Boar’s Head officials to discuss "a repeated pattern of food safety negligence that jeopardized Americans' public health."

Boar's Head closed the Virginia-based facility in 2024 that produced the liverwurst, impacting about 500 union workers and additional employees in management, USA TODAY previously reported. But sanitary issues have been reported at other locations, including in Arkansas, Indiana, and a different plant in Virginia, according to the AP.

"It is appalling that Boar’s Head is encountering similar issues at other facilities of theirs," the Sept. 15 letter said. "This information leaves us less than confident that the facility in Jarratt, Virginia, is prepared to reopen safely."

Boar's Head plant linked to deadly listeria outbreak

Inadequate sanitation at a Boar's Head plant in Virginia was among the major contributing factors that led to the deadly multistate listeria outbreak that killed 10 and sickened 61 last summer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a report in January.

A month after the recall was initiated in July 2024, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service released records showing 69 reports of "noncompliance" at the Boar's Head plant in Jarratt, Virginia, from inspectors in the weeks leading up to the recall. Among the findings: live and dead insects, mildew, black and green mold, and other unsanitary conditions.

After the recall, Boar’s Head officials announced new company plans to enhance food safety and quality measures, including the appointment of a new chief food safety and quality assurance officer and a food safety council.

The company, based in Sarasota, Florida, told USA TODAY in a statement on Sept. 16 that it was reviewing the letter sent from Congress.

“In our more than 120-year history, what happened at our Jarratt facility was the first time that such an event occurred," the company said. "We moved quickly, aggressively and decisively in close collaboration with regulators and leading food safety experts to identify the root cause of the problem and implement enhancements to our food manufacturing nationwide to prevent something like this from ever happening again."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture did not immediately return USA TODAY’s request for comment on Sept. 16.

What is listeria?

A bacteria that can cause listeria poisoning or listeriosis, Listeria monocytogenes can survive and grow in refrigerated conditions and be transmitted where food is produced, according to the Food and Drug Administration.Listeriosis is considered a serious condition and can be dangerous or life-threatening, especially to newborns, those aged 65 or older, those who are pregnant, and those with weak immune systems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Contributing: Amaris Encinas, and Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY; C. A. Bridges, Daytona Beach News-Journal

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lawmakers question if Boar’s Head plant tied to listeria outbreak should reopen

Reporting by Fernando Cervantes Jr. and Mike Snider, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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