{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-statement-on-boars-head-response-regarding-deadly-listeria-outbreak", "Blumenthal Statement on Boar's Head Response Regarding Deadly Listeria Outbreak", "2024-12-19", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CT", "Richard Blumenthal", "B001277", "www.blumenthal.senate.gov", "blumenthal", "https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press", "scraper", "[Hartford, CT] \u2013 U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Congressional colleagues received a response to the September 30 letter sent to Boar\u2019s Head Provisions Company, Inc. (Boar\u2019s Head) in which they demanded answers about the conditions at the Jarratt, Virginia plant at the center of a nationwide Listeria outbreak. Boar\u2019s Head\u2019s response failed to substantively answer key questions posed by Blumenthal.\n\n\u201cThis Boar\u2019s Head response is an insulting effort to blow off accountability. The public deserves answers, not these evasive dodges. The deadly Listeria outbreak killed 10 people and injured many more, but Boar\u2019s Head refuses to provide any real response about their unsafe and negligent Virginia plant. Their ham-handed approach to a very serious health issue fails to take accountability for the outbreak, provide any clarity on actual plans to prevent a future outbreak, or ease the minds of consumers. With the time for action long overdue, Boar\u2019s Head must at least own up to their actions and failures and provide a real response. I\u2019ll continue to fight for answers and demand real responsibility from all involved in this deadly disaster,\u201d said Blumenthal.\n\nBoar\u2019s Head failed to answer several questions raised in the September 30 letter, including:\n\nNo confirmation if they plan to reopen the Virginia plant at the center of the Listeria outbreak\n\nNo clear commitment to improving plant\u2019s infrastructure or explanation of how Boar\u2019s Head plans to prevent non-compliances in the future\n\nNo response explaining their past food safety policies\n\nNo response on why staff did not act sooner to address food safety concerns or how management will be held accountable\n\nNo response on the frequency Boar\u2019s Head conducted microbial testing\n\nNo response on testing data as requested\n\nNo word if Boar\u2019s Head tested non-contact food surfaces\n\nNo response on whether third party inspections were conducted before the recall\n\nNo response on how HQ handled food safety concerns prior to establishing the new Boar\u2019s Head Food Safety Advisory Council\n\nLimited information on the documented steps of the recall\n\nThe United States Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) announced key reforms this week that were raised in the September 30 letter to the agency. Notable changes include:\n\nFSIS adding broader Listeria species testing to all samples of ready-to-eat product, environmental and food contact surfaces.\n\nFSIS updating its instructions and training for food safety inspectors to better equip the workforce to recognize and highlight systemic problems in a standardized way.\n\nFSIS field supervisors conducting in-person, follow-up visits when systemic issues are identified during a Food Safety Assessment.\n\nFSIS clarifying state and Federal requirements for consistent oversight of Talmadge-Aiken (TA) programs through updated cooperative agreements and instructions.\n\nThe USDA logged 69 instances of \u2018noncompliance\u2019 with federal rules at the Boar\u2019s Head plant in the past year. U.S. inspectors also warned \u201cthat conditions at [the] Boar\u2019s Head plant posed an \u2018imminent threat\u2019 to public health\u201d two years prior to the outbreak. This Listeria outbreak led to at least 60 hospitalizations and 10 deaths across 19 states.\n\nBoar\u2019s Head\u2019s response is available here. The September 30 letter to Boar\u2019s Head can be found here and the letter to the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) can be found here. FSIS has not yet responded.\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-statement-on-boars-head-response-regarding-deadly-listeria-outbreak"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4735893346369267, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}