Six other illnesses linked to the Boar’s Head listerie outbreak

The death toll has risen in a listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head meat, according to state health officials.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared this the largest listeria outbreak since 2011, when the bacteria was linked to cantaloupe.

At least 14 more cases and six deaths have been reported since early August when the outbreak was linked to deli counters, including Boar’s Head liverwurst, in follow the CDC’s latest update published Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, 57 people have been infected with the listeria epidemic across 18 counties, all of whom are hospitalized. This includes a pregnant Minnesota woman suing Boar’s Head after she said she “almost lost her unborn child” when she contracted listeria after eating the meat. company’s best

selling Publix Florida store.

Nine people have died – one in Illinois, one in New Jersey, one in Virginia, one in Florida, one in Tennessee, one in New Mexico, one in New York and two in South Carolina, the CDC said.

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Boar’s Head did not respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.

The CDC reported that epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback data revealed that delis’ fried meats, including Boar’s Head liverwurst, are contaminated with listeria and are making people sick. Health officials in several states have reported that unopened Boar’s Head products have been found to contain the same strain that sickened people during the outbreak.

Last year, health inspectors found about 70 violations at the Boar’s Head plant in Virginia where it produces the recalled meat, according to USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service reports obtained by CBS News. Freedom of Information Act request.

Reports of “non-compliance” flagged at Jarratt’s plant by USDA inspectors include missing papers, meat left on equipment and leaking or pooling water.

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The company was cited several times for mold or mildew build-up around company buildings as well as insects inside and around meat at the facility, according to the documents.

In January, inspectors even noticed a “black sort of thing” being seen throughout the room.

The USDA did not respond to FOX Business about whether the company faces any enforcement actions stemming from the violations.

Boar’s Head told CBS that all operations have been halted at the facility and that no products will be released until the plant “meets the highest quality and safety standards.”

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In a statement on its website, Boar’s Head said after being notified that a sample of Boar’s Head Strassburger Brand Liverwurst collected by the Maryland Department of Health tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, it immediately recalled the item. “along with nine other items produced on the same production line and on the same day as our liverwurst.”

“As soon as our liverwurst was linked to the meat epidemic, we took immediate and decisive action,” the company said. “In the interest of public health and safety, we have taken the additional precaution of recalling everything produced in the factory where our liverwurst is made. We have made this extensive recall and cautious because we believed it was the right thing to do.”

The company said that all Boar’s Head products currently available in grocery stores and food service outlets have not been recalled and are not part of this outbreak.