More Americans are likely to be sickened by listeria-tainted Boar’s Head products that have already killed nine people this summer, an attorney has warned.
Bill Marler, a Seattle-based food safety attorney, said the deadly illness has a two-month incubation period, meaning some customers who ate contaminated deli products may not have developed the illness yet.
Nine people have died in 18 states and 57 have needed hospital treatment after millions of spoiled products from the leading supermarket sparked the biggest listeria outbreak in the United States in more than a decade in July.
Boar’s Head began recalling meats on July 26 and expanded the list again in early August. Since then, it has emerged that the Virginia plant at the center of the outbreak has been plagued by black mold, fungus and insects.
“It’s crazy. Not only was this plant producing better listeria than meat, but what were the inspectors doing?” Marler said. USA TODAY.
An attorney has warned that more Americans are likely to be sickened by Boar’s Head products contaminated with listeria that have already killed nine people this summer.
Pictured above is the Jarratt, Virginia, plant at the center of the Listeria outbreak.
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service reports at the Jarratt plant revealed that inspectors noticed a trail of ants crawling on the walls, mold and mildew on surfaces and “abundant blood” covering the floor along with a “musty odor.”
Food safety attorney Bill Marler warned that more people are likely to fall ill from the listeria outbreak at Boar’s Head
“This is the worst set of inspection reports I have ever seen,” Marler said.
The report found that the USDA found 69 violations last year at the $1 billion company’s Virginia plant.
The boar’s head has published a list of 57 products – all produced at Jarratt’s factory – from smoked hams and turkey to liverwurst and olive terrine, totaling more than seven million pounds of food.
The listeria outbreak has caused deaths in 18 states so far, including Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico and South Carolina.
It is the largest foodborne illness to hit the United States since the cantaloupe outbreak in 2011, when a melon contaminated with listeria sickened 147 people and caused 33 deaths.
Boar’s Head supplies meats to the deli counters of stores such as Walmart, Kroger’s, Target and Save-a-Lots.
Pictured above is Gunter “Garshon” Morgenstein, a father of three from Newport, Virginia, with his wife Peggy. He died after suffering a listeria infection from eating Boar’s Head cold cuts.
Morgenstein had eaten Boar’s Head liver pate the day before he became ill. This meat is now included in the recall of products contaminated with listeria in several states.
Among the victims was Gunter Morgenstein, an 88-year-old father of three and Holocaust survivor who regularly ate the company’s liver pate because it reminded him of his native Germany.
Days after consuming a Boar’s Head product in July of this year, Morgenstein felt fatigued and began having trouble breathing before being rushed to the hospital.
Doctors said he was infected with listeria and had developed meningitis as a result, which caused a fatal brain swelling.
He died on July 18 of this year, just ten days after being admitted.
Revealing his father’s story, his son Garshon told DailyMail.com: ‘I think that’s one of the biggest things, you know, that my mother and I are most shocked by – that he survived the Holocaust only to die from sausages years later.
“It’s kind of ridiculous if you think about it. That’s part of the irony of the whole thing.”
Sue Fleming, 88, and her husband Patrick, 76, are suing deli maker Boar’s Head and the store where they bought the meat after Fleming became “deadly ill” from listeria.
Boar’s Head braces for a rash of lawsuits from sick customers.
Among them is Sue Fleming, 88, of Missouri, who filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer after falling “seriously ill” after eating a sausage in July.
Fleming, who lives with her husband Patrick, 76, in High Ridge, ate a Boar’s Head liver pate late last month after buying it at her local supermarket.
But in the days that followed, she says, she developed nausea, diarrhea and stomach cramps, before suffering tremors and aches throughout her body.
According to the lawsuit, she was rushed to the hospital, where tests confirmed a listeria infection. She spent nine days in intensive care and 11 in rehabilitation, but claims she still suffers from neurological symptoms and has not yet regained her full strength.
The couple is now suing Boar’s Head for more than $25,000 to cover medical and legal costs, and damages to their “enjoyment of life” and their marital relationship.
This is the exterior of the plant, which Boar’s Head says is now closed for cleaning.
At least two people have died and 34 have been sickened in a multi-state listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head sausages; the CDC says it’s likely that others have been infected.
Boar’s Head said in a statement: ‘We deeply regret the impact this recall has had on the families affected.
“There are no words that can fully express our condolences and the sincere and deep sorrow we feel for those who have suffered loss or suffered illness.”
Boar’s Head added that the Jarratt, Virginia, plant at the center of the crisis has been closed for cleaning.
