My mind and diet haven't been the same since reading about the USDA inspections at a Boar's Head plant in Jarratt, Va., the findings of which were published in a report last August. You read a phrase like "heavy meat buildup," and any desire for a cracked pepper turkey sandwich can vanish overnight. Truly, I haven't touched the stuff since—and a new batch of USDA reports will not bring back that craving.
As reported by the Associated Press on Tuesday, additional FOIA requests prompted the USDA to release the non-compliance reports of four other Boar's Head facilities, the dates ranging from 2019 to 2024. While none of these plants were directly connected to last year's listeria outbreak, three of them were pretty gross. There's always going to be some mess in the manufacturing of deli meat, but you want your residues to at least be identifiable.
Once again, we combed through the reports to find the most alarming and unintentionally poetic phrases written by inspectors. They are presented without edits. Do not read this before eating a meal.
Here's the best of the plant in Petersburg, Va.:
- Nov. 7, 2019: "While observing the designated floor trash personnel clean around the department, I noticed him used a stainless steel hook to pick up a small piece of meat (approximately the size of a baseball) from underneath the bench where meat was being pulled onto the line (with the same type of stainless steel hooks)."
- June 16, 2020: "I inspected twenty molds in the Ham Mold Storage room where l discovered each one had extensive residue left over from previous production. About ten percent of each mold contained residual ham material."
- June 24, 2020: "I found two unmarked and unlined containers: - One gray, unmarked trashcan filled with raw ham pieces and juices - One black, unmarked storage bin holding about fifteen cooked hams and ham pieces."
- Sept. 16, 2020: "I observed four Deluxe Ham Large Babies on the conveyor belt pass through the metal detector, set it off, and then bypass the reject arm. ... Upon further investigation, these hams failed to slide on to the disposition cart adjacent to the reject arm because the cart was already overflowing with approximately eight other hams."
- Feb. 25, 2021: "I witnessed an employee pick up a Low Sodium ham from the floor and place it on the corner conveyor belt before the inline sanitizer. He did not change out and proceeded to work before disappearing behind a wall. The amount of time the ham was on the floor is unknown, but the total time of my observation time was approximately 2 minutes."
- Sept. 15, 2021: "I noticed several wet looking areas 4-18 inches in length located in corners and top surfaces of the concrete portion of the wall. Upon closer investigation, I saw black, green, and pink foreign material spotted in and around the wet areas. Clumps of glossy, cream-colored gelatinous foreign substance was also observed in some of these areas."
- Nov. 9, 2022: "In the Stitch Pump Department, a stainless-steel guard attached to the rear of the inspection line was found to have a multiple small pieces of meat residue stuck to its bottom edge."
- Dec. 8, 2022: "A Ham Pack production associate was observed cleaning a drain located by line 2 in the department. Then went right back to the ham molds and started to fill one with hams off the conveyor."
- Feb. 13, 2023: "In the Raw Cure Cooler, a cigarette butt was found on top of the lowest shelf of the metal shelf labeled 29."
- April 28, 2023: "In the receiving office hallway, both sides of the door leading to the receiving department vestibule and the surrounding wall was found to have multiple particles of dried meat stuck to the surface."
- Aug. 30, 2023: "In the Dry Receiving Department, the exit door was found to have a spider sitting on the door handle, a beetle stuck to the wall near the door, and a tree frog stuck to another nearby wall."
- Jan. 3, 2024: "Heavy accumulation of meat juice found on two rolling, white tub buggy frames and fat found in two out of eight wheels. Congealed meat juice and fat lodged under the operational buttons and yellow partitions of the hopper controller."
- July 21, 2024: "The electrical pallet jack had an accumulation of meat residue on the handles and on the battery compartment which also had flaking paint. The stand-up lift had meat located inside the operating cabinet and rear seat."
The highlights from Forrest City, Ark.:
- Nov. 27, 2019: "The saddle tank on the new injection line in the noncured area had stringy pieces and a small piece of meat inside."
- March 2, 2020: "The unknown substance was gray in color and appeared to be slightly thicker than water."
- May 17, 2020: "The unknown residue was yellow in color with a tacky texture, the accumulation of residue was thick enough that it would come off onto my glove when scratched with my fingers."
- Feb. 15, 2022: "In Honey Maple turkey on a parts cart, I observed a pipe with numerous meat particles and residue inside."
- April 17, 2023: "A black cart labeled chipotle/teriyaki with open supplies gloves, armguards, etc. parked next to a gondola filled with overflowing trash."
- June 27, 2024: "I observed what appeared to be green chewed gum on the floor, I then observed two other objects with the resemblance of chewed gum, white in color."
- Sept. 24, 2024: "The black/brown colored residue did not match up with the other residue observed coming from the Sweet Slice Ham products during my visual inspection, this residue observed was a dripping liquid with a cloudy appearance."
And the greatest hits from the facility in New Castle, Ind.:
- Feb. 10, 2019: "The fax computer and keyboard had not been cleaned and had old meat and fat residue on it."
- Oct. 27, 2019: "The [redacted] Macerator had meat and fat residue on various places on the machine including the isolation points and on top of the discharge chutes."
- Nov. 20, 2020: "Browning oil was observed left from the previous day's production on the reservoirs that sit inside the oil browner above the wire conveyor belt."
- March 9, 2023: "Line 2- turkey line, had a sticky feeling when touching several areas along the blue (FCS) belt. In fact, when I laid my hands on the belt, it would lift up because of the sticky substance."
- Feb. 23, 2024: "On the west end of the raw sanitation hallway, the main door that leads outside was observed open. A piece of wood was being used to keep the door open, leaving a gap of approximately 1.5 inches wide allowing the entrance of pests."
- May 12, 2024: "The door had leftover over splash protein and blood on the door causing insanitary conditions. The bottom of the door silver kick plate was coming loose from the door allowing dirt and grime in between the plate and the door. The door frame was also separating from the wall. The walls behind the gloves had left over protein, dirt, blood and general grime on it. The lids of the totes that had the gloves and other PPE items were filthy with protein and general dirt and grim on them. The computer workstations had dirt, grime, dried protein and general filth on them as well."
Barry Petchesky contributed additional reporting.
