Boar’s Head, the 120-year-old premium meat and cheese producer, recently announced comprehensive food safety reforms following last year’s unprecedented liverwurst recall due to Listeria contamination. The Listeria outbreak spread across 19 states, resulted in 61 illnesses, and 10 deaths between late May and mid-September of 2024.
Yesterday, the company designated a company-wide “Boar’s Head Food Safety Promise Day,” during which all facilities will pause operations to focus on newly enhanced safety and sanitation protocols.
The company is implementing several new safety measures and has established an independent Food Safety Advisory Council to oversee quality control efforts. Frank Yiannas, former Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been appointed as Boar’s Head Chief Food Safety Advisor to lead the council, which includes three additional food safety experts.
As part of its transition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Alternative 2 Listeria Control Requirements, Boar’s Head has upgraded its processing methods to include high-pressure pasteurization, water pasteurization, and the addition of natural pathogen-inhibiting ingredients. The company said it has also intensified its environmental monitoring capabilities with increased Listeria sampling across all facilities and investments in advanced laboratory testing technology.
Boar’s Head said its enhanced sanitation processes now include additional third-party training for sanitation teams and strengthened daily cleaning procedures. The new protocols require dedicated hours for complete sanitization of manufacturing equipment, surfaces, and plant environments, with regular audits to verify effectiveness.
Since summer 2024, Boar’s Head has conducted comprehensive retraining of team members across all facilities on updated food safety procedures. The company emphasizes that these changes are part of a broader initiative to strengthen its food safety culture throughout the organization.
Following internal investigation, Boar’s Head confirmed that no other products were implicated in last year’s recall, and no current products are subject to any recalls. The liverwurst incident marked the first recall in the company’s history.
The new safety measures include:
- Formation of an independent advisory council
- Upgrade to more rigorous USDA safety standards
- Implementation of advanced pathogen control processes
- Enhanced environmental monitoring systems
- Strengthened sanitation protocols
- Comprehensive staff retraining
- Regular safety audits
These improvements are designed to enable faster detection and response to potential safety concerns while maintaining product quality across all distribution channels, including supermarkets, delis, and restaurants.
Commenting on this article, the nation’s leading Listeria lawyer, who also represented one of the victim’s of the deadly Boar’s Head Listeria outbreak, said, “Food safety isn’t just a guideline—it’s a responsibility. This is a promising development.”
