World

Boar's Head plant linked to deadly outbreak broke food safety rules dozens of times, records show

Published

2 years ago

August 29, 2024

Boar's Head plant linked to deadly outbreak broke food safety rules dozens of times, records show

A Boar’s Head deli meat plant in Virginia tied to a deadly food poisoning outbreak repeatedly violated federal regulations, including instances of mold, insects, liquid dripping from ceilings, and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment, newly released records show.

Agriculture Department officials logged 69 instances of “noncompliance” with federal rules in the past year, including several in recent weeks, according to documents released through federal Freedom of Information Act requests.

The Jarratt, Virginia, plant has been linked to the deaths of at least nine people and hospitalizations of about 50 others in 18 states. All were sickened with listeria after eating Boar’s Head Provisions Co. Inc. deli meats. The company recalled more than 7 million pounds of products last month after tests confirmed that listeria bacteria in Boar’s Head products were making people sick.

Between Aug. 1, 2023, and Aug. 2, 2024, U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service personnel found “heavy discolored meat buildup” and “meat overspray on walls and large pieces of meat on the floor.” They also documented flies “going in and out” of pickle vats and “black patches of mold” on a ceiling. One inspector detailed blood puddled on the floor and “a rancid smell in the cooler.” Plant staff were repeatedly notified that they had failed to meet requirements, the documents showed.

“I think it is disgusting and shameful,” said Garshon Morgenstein, whose 88-year-old father, Gunter, died July 18 from a listeria infection traced to Boar’s Head liverwurst. “I’m just even more in shock that this was allowed to happen.”

The documents, first reported by CBS News, didn’t contain any test results that confirmed listeria in the factory. The bacteria thrive on floors, walls and drains, in cracks and crevices and hard-to-clean parts of food processing equipment. Pests such as flies can easily spread the bacteria through a plant and the germ can survive in biofilms — thin, slimy collections of bacteria that are difficult to eradicate.

Officials with Boar’s Head did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press, but a spokesperson told CBS that the company regrets the impact of the recall, prioritizes food safety and addressed the USDA’s concerns.

Barbara Kowalcyk, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University, said the records raise a lot of red flags.

“It makes me wonder why additional actions weren’t taken by management of that company and the regulators,” she said.

Donald Schaffner, a Rutgers food science and safety expert who reviewed the inspection documents, said reports of condensation throughout the plant are concerning because that’s a known risk factor for listeria.

“The fact that they are having the same problems over and over again weeks apart is an indication that they really struggling to keep up with sanitation,” Schaffner said.

Listeria infections cause about 1,600 illnesses each year in the U.S. and about 260 people die, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People older than 65, those who are pregnant or who have weakened immune systems are most vulnerable.

USDA food safety officials did not immediately respond to questions about the conditions at the plant. Federal reports show no enforcement actions against Boar’s Head between January and March, the latest records available.

Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer who has sued companies over food poisoning outbreaks, said the conditions described in the inspections reports were the worst he’s seen in three decades.

Garshon Morgenstein said his father bought Boar’s Head products because of the company’s reputation.

“For the rest of my life, I have to remember my father’s death every time I see or hear the name Boar’s Head,” he said.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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World

One week into Iran war, the dangers for the US and Trump multiply

Published

9 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

One week into Iran war, the dangers for the US and Trump multiply

One week into the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran that has plunged the Middle East into turmoil, President Donald Trump faces a growing list of risks and challenges that raise questions about whether he will be able to translate military successes into a clear geopolitical win.

World

Iran warns European countries will be ‘legitimate targets’ if they join conflict

Published

10 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Iran warns European countries will be ‘legitimate targets’ if they join conflict

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An Iranian official warned that any European countries that enter the conflict against Iran will become “legitimate targets” for Tehran’s retaliation.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi made the remark to France24 as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday apologized to neighboring countries that have been attacked by the regime.

“We have already informed the Europeans and everybody else that they should be careful not to be involved in this war of aggression against Iran,” Takht-Ravanchi told the network. “If they help, I’m not trying to name any country, but if any country joins in the aggression against Iran, joins America and Israel in the aggression against Iran, definitely they will be also the legitimate targets for Iranian retaliation.”

“This war has imposed on us, and we will continue to defend ourselves to the best of our abilities,” he added. “We have an obligation to defend our people and that is what exactly we are doing.”

Then-Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht-Ravanchi speaks to the media outside Security Council chambers at the U.N. headquarters in New York, on June 24, 2019. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Takht-Ravanchi also claimed Iran was “negotiating in good faith” in talks with the U.S. about its nuclear program, before America launched Operation Epic Fury and Israel began Operation Roaring Lion on Feb. 28.

“We are sincere. We are sincere in our endeavor to arrive at a peaceful conclusion of this issue,” he told France24.

AFTER THE STRIKES, HOW WOULD THE US SECURE IRAN’S ENRICHED URANIUM?

A group of men inspect the ruins of a police station struck during the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

Pezeshkian said Saturday that any future attacks coming out of Iran would only be in response to attacks against the country.

“I should apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “From now on, they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked by those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy.”

Damage is seen in Bnei Brak, Israel, on March 3, 2026, following an Iranian missile barrage. (Nir Elias/Reuters)

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Pezeshkian made the apology during a prerecorded televised speech on Saturday after Iran launched repeated strikes on Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman.

Despite the vow, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that the country’s air defense systems intercepted 16 ballistic missiles, 15 of which were destroyed while one fell into the sea.

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Pritchett and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

World

Israel kills father, daughter in Gaza as genocide continues amid wider war

Published

12 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Israel kills father, daughter in Gaza as genocide continues amid wider war

A father and his daughter have been killed in an Israeli drone attack in central Khan Younis, southern Gaza, as Palestinians continue to suffer amid worldwide attention on the United States-Israeli war on Iran.

The two were killed early on Saturday. In a separate attack later in the day in Khan Younis, another person was killed and a young girl wounded, according to Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground.

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Israeli forces continue carrying out air strikes, artillery shelling, and naval bombardment on Gaza on a daily basis, despite an October 11 “ceasefire” as Israel continues its ongoing genocide.

Suffering in Gaza and the occupied West Bank remains acute as the world focuses on the US-Israeli bombardment of Iran.

In the past 48 hours, two additional people have been wounded, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Israeli army-affiliated militias, meanwhile, have advanced east of Gaza City, with heavy gunfire reported in the area. Initial reports also stated a member of the Palestinian police was abducted.

Israeli warplanes also struck several locations east of the Tuffah neighbourhood, near Gaza City, while the Israeli navy fired heavy machineguns and shells towards the coast of Gaza City, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The Rafah border crossing, meanwhile, remains closed. Israel had shut it amid its attacks on Iran.

The Rafah crossing, located on Gaza’s southern border, had reopened only last month allowing a limited number of Palestinians to leave for the first time in months, including patients in urgent need of medical care. Thousands remain blocked from travelling for treatment.

The Karem Abu Salem crossing, also known to Israelis as Kerem Shalom, is partially open for the entry of humanitarian aid only, under strict restrictions.

Nearly all of Gaza’s population of more than two million people was displaced during Israel’s war on the territory, and the enclave remains heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance.

In a February report, Human Rights Watch said Israeli restrictions had contributed to shortages of medicine, reconstruction materials, food and water inside the Strip.

Since the ceasefire in Gaza, 640 Palestinians have been killed and at least 1,700 wounded, according to the Health Ministry. At least 72,123 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, while 171,805 people have been injured.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported its teams in Hebron are treating a Palestinian injured by live fire near the illegal Karmei Tzur settlement, built on Palestinian land north of Hebron.

Three Palestinians were also injured on Saturday after being physically assaulted by Israeli settlers in the Ras al-Ahmar area, south of Tubas, Wafa reported. Medical sources at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said their teams responded to three people with injuries.

Israeli forces also conducted raids in the towns of Qaffin and Kafr al-Labad, north of Tulkarem, early on Saturday, Wafa said.

A Palestinian man was also injured after being assaulted by Israeli soldiers near the village of Azmut, east of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.

Palestinians have faced a wave of intensified Israeli military and settler violence across the West Bank since the war on Gaza began in October 2023.

At least 1,094 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the West Bank since October 2023, according to the latest United Nations figures.