Recently disclosed violations included meat and fat residue left on walls, green mold, and 'general filth' in several of the food company's plants over a six-year period.

Poor sanitation at Virginia Boar's Head plant caused a deadly listeria outbreak that killed 10 and sickened 61 last summer.

A listeria outbreak at a Boar’s Head facility in Virginia, which left 10 people dead and dozens hospitalized in multiple states in the U.S. in 2024, was caused by poor sanitation.

Sixty people were hospitalized and 10 are known to have died last year in the largest listeria outbreak since 2011.

The USDA said inspectors found product residue in the form of meat and fat from the equipment left over from the previous day.

A report from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service found sanitary noncompliance contributed to a multistate listeria outbreak last year.

According to a press release, a thorough review found multiple violations of food safety protocols — including the presence of mold, insects, and other unsanitary conditions — in the site of the outbreak at a Boar Head’s plant in Virginia to be the main cause of the outbreak.

Government inspectors documented unsanitary conditions at several Boar’s Head deli meat plants, not just the factory that was shut down last year after a deadly outbreak of listeria poisoning, federal records show.

Inspectors found "general filth," poor sanitation practices, and structural issues at Boar’s Head facilities, including the Virginia plant linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak that killed 10 people and hospitalized 60,