USDA inspectors reported seeing insects—some dead, and some alive—on more than a dozen occasions across multiple plants. In some instances, the insects were near meat.
Inspectors also recorded a host of other unsanitary practices, including meat residue, trash on scales, and “unidentified slime.”
“Upon entering the pickle vat pump out room, approximately 15-20 flies observed going in and out of the 4 vats of pickle left in the room,” an inspector wrote in one report after visiting a plant on June 10, 2024.
“Small flying gnat-like insects were observed crawling on the walls and flying around the room. The rooms [sic] walls had heavy meat buildup, pink/orange discoloration, and denaturant overspray on them. The roll up door seal leading to inedible storage was pulled away from the frame hanging down into the walkway. The roll-up door also had meat build-up on it. A hot water pipe over the doorway was leaking a steady stream of water down the wall and onto the floor. The inedible room roll-up door leading outside was open approximately 1/2 inch, allowing a steady line of ants into the room.”
The records were released in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.
They documented inspections of plants in Forrest City, Arkansas; New Castle, Indiana; and Petersburg, Virginia.
Boar’s Head officials said in an email on Monday that the violations documented in the three factories “do not meet our high standards.” They said the company’s remaining plants continue to operate under normal USDA oversight. The Sarasota, Florida-based company has marketed itself for decades as a premier provider of deli meats and cheeses, advertising “excellence that stands apart in every bite.”
Records from a fourth Boar’s Head plant in Holland, Michigan, do not show similar problems.
The conditions revealed at the other Boar’s Head plants are “really concerning,” said Thomas Gremillion, director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit advocacy group. “It’s reasonable for some people to decide they don’t want to eat deli meat. Companies like Boar’s Head ... should have to earn consumers’ trust.”
