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Lawmakers Questioning Inaction on Boar’s Head Listeria Outbreak

Lawmakers want to know why the Department of Agriculture and Boar’s Head did not take action to avoid a Listeria outbreak. A group of U.S. legislators are demanding answers from officials regarding egregious food safety violations at a production plant that has led to dozens of hospitalizations and at least 10 deaths.

“What is especially troubling is how egregious sanitation problems occurred despite supposed regular oversight, oversight which typically includes at least one inspection per shift,” the legislators wrote to USDA officials.

According to records released by USDA, inspectors turned up 69 records of noncompliance at this individual plant. Inspectors found and documented mold and mildew around the hand washing sinks for staff working with meats that are supposed to be ready to eat, mold in holding coolers, blood in puddles on the floor, insects in and around deli meats at the plant, and heavy meat buildup on walls and machinery.

The legislators cited a New York Times story that reported that two years prior, U.S. inspectors warned that conditions at the Boar’s Head plant posed an imminent threat to public health.

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