Boar's Head closes factory in connection with listeria deaths and stops selling liver sausage

The Boar's Head meat processing plant in Virginia, where a deadly listeria outbreak occurred, will be closed “indefinitely,” the company said on Friday.

Boar's Head will also stop producing liver sausage – the product that tested positive for listeria and which killed nine people and hospitalized 57 people this summer.

“Our investigation has shown that the cause of the contamination is a specific production process that only existed in Jarratt. [Viriginia] facility and was only used for liver sausage. Due to this discovery, we have decided to permanently discontinue the production of liver sausage,” Boar's Head said in a statement on its website.

The Jarratt plant, which employed about 500 people, was closed in July when Boar's Head recalled more than 7 million pounds of sausage and cheese produced at the factory.

“We do not take our responsibilities as one of the region's largest employers lightly,” Boar's Head said in the statement. “But under these circumstances, we believe that plant closure is the most sensible course of action.”

Inspection reports from state and U.S. Department of Agriculture authorities last year identified 69 cases of unsanitary conditions, including mold, flying insects, condensation, clogged drains, “rancid” odors and rusty equipment. As the Post reported, food safety experts questioned why the situation had simmered for so long.

On July 31, the U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended the facility for failing to comply with sanitation conditions, according to a seven-page report Boar's Head posted on its website on Friday.

The 119-year-old family business said: “This is a dark moment in the history of our company.”

The outbreak is now the largest listeriosis outbreak since the melon-related outbreak in 2011.

Boar's Head also said it was implementing new food and safety measures at its other facilities, including hiring a new head of food safety.

The company is facing numerous lawsuits from families who have lost loved ones and from victims – some of whom were in a coma after consuming the contaminated product – who are still recovering from their illnesses.

New York had the most cases: 17 residents became ill due to the contaminated deli meat.

Two people died in South Carolina and one death each occurred in New Jersey, Virginia, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee and New Mexico.

It will take a while for consumers to trust the iconic brand again, a supermarket manager told the Washington Post, describing nervous customers who bought other brands.