USDA Reveals Likely Causes Behind Deadly Boar’s Head Listeria Outbreak

Inspectors found several violations, including residue meat matter left on processing counters and structural faults in a facility.

A Boar's Head deli inside a grocery store in San Anselmo, Calif., on July 31, 2024. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Inadequate sanitary practices at Boar’s Head were the main cause cited in a multistate listeria outbreak with 61 people infected and 10 deaths, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported.

On July 26, Virginia-based Boar’s Head Provisions Co., Inc., announced a recall of all liverwurst and deli meat products distributed in stores across the country over concern that it may be adulterated with the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.