WASHINGTON — Recent documents released by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicate that the Boar’s Head facility in Jarratt, Va., posed an “imminent threat” two years before the current Listeria outbreak in the United States.

While the USDA earlier disclosed details of 69 instances of noncompliance between Aug. 1, 2023, and Aug. 2, 2024, at the Jarratt facility, a more recently released report revealed violations taking place as early as 2022. The second round of inspection citations covered the period between January 2022 and June 2023.

The documents reported rusted equipment, meat buildup, meat overspray and multiple areas with condensation and green mold. Additionally, several insects were known to have found their way into the plant, such as flies, beetles, moths, crickets and ants.

These findings add to what was previously reported this past year at the Boar’s Head facility, such as heavy discolored meat buildup, meat overspray on the walls, large pieces of meat on the floor, black patches of mold on a ceiling, blood puddled on the floor and a rancid smell coming from the cooler.

Although the plant remained operational throughout the period of its violations, it has currently stopped production.

The pause in production comes after Boar’s Head recalled 7 million lbs of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products this July due to Listeria contamination.

According to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 57 people have been hospitalized and nine people have died as a result of the Listeria outbreak linked to sliced deli meat, including products from Boar’s Head.