8News Exclusive: Former Boar’s Head plant employee shares photos taken with smartwatch
Content warning: The photos below may be disturbing for some. GREENSVILLE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The Jarratt, Virginia Boar's Head plant that was linked to a listeria outbreak that killed 10 people closed its doors indefinitely in September. Now, a former employee is giving 8News an exclusive look inside the plant -- all of which he captured through a Samsung smartwatch. Employees said phones could not be in the workspace when the plant was open, and photos were not allowed, which is why he had not yet shared the images. "I found metal chips in the baloney," the employee reported, explaining that he believed the metal came from a broken detector meant to alert workers to metal contamination. This employee wished to remain anonymous. He was hired in September 2020 as a line worker, packaging and shipping ready-to-go meat. "The liverwurst was probably the worst out of all of them," he recalled. "We used to check the meat when it comes to any wrapper, to see if it has airbags in the meat, making sure it was wrapped tight. But the liverwurst was so mushy, the bag could never be tight on it." When the Jarratt plant shut down, Boar's Head permanently discontinued its liverwurst product. Metal detector at Jarratt, Virginia Boar's Head plant PREVIOUSLY: USDA launches federal investigation into Boar’s Head inspections after sanitation manager speaks out "Meat would fall on the floor," the employee said. "People would pick it up and put it back in with the regular meat." He expressed his concerns about the safety of products intended to be ready-to-eat and said that despite bringing these issues to management's attention, he felt dismissed. "I was either ignored, the issues never got reported up the chain as they were supposed to be, or I was told to continue to process things," he explained. "I know from common sense and training that they were not and should not have been." Frustrated with the lack of action, he decided to document the issues himself, despite the plant's policy prohibiting phones during work hours. He managed to take pictures using his watch. "With my phone being connected to my watch, I was able to sneak them off," he said. The employee noted a noticeable decline in sanitation practices toward the end of 2022 and took matters into his own hands by contacting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in March 2023. After addressing the issue with two managers and multiple coworkers without resolution, he said he felt compelled to escalate the situation. "They kept running the baloney and shipping it out," he said. "I feel after these two incidents, with nothing being done and meat being shipped out, I needed to go to a person higher up." Following his complaints to the USDA, he said he received confirmations that his messages were received but never heard anything further. After the announcement of a Listeria outbreak linked to Boar's Head products in July, he said he reached out to the USDA again, only to be told they had not received any prior complaints. Despite the plant's indefinite shutdown, the former employee, who continues to work in the industry, remains fearful of potential backlash for speaking out. He said he believes that if the USDA had taken his complaints seriously, the issues could have been addressed sooner, potentially saving lives.
VENN
Content warning: The photos below may be disturbing for some.
GREENSVILLE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The Jarratt, Virginia Boar's Head plant that was linked to a listeria outbreak that killed 10 people closed its doors indefinitely in September. Now, a former employee is giving 8News an exclusive look inside the plant -- all of which he captured through a Samsung smartwatch.
Employees said phones could not be in the workspace when the plant was open, and photos were not allowed, which is why he had not yet shared the images.
"I found metal chips in the baloney," the employee reported, explaining that he believed the metal came from a broken detector meant to alert workers to metal contamination.
This employee wished to remain anonymous. He was hired in September 2020 as a line worker, packaging and shipping ready-to-go meat.
"The liverwurst was probably the worst out of all of them," he recalled. "We used to check the meat when it comes to any wrapper, to see if it has airbags in the meat, making sure it was wrapped tight. But the liverwurst was so mushy, the bag could never be tight on it."
When the Jarratt plant shut down, Boar's Head permanently discontinued its liverwurst product.
Metal detector at Jarratt, Virginia Boar's Head plant
"Meat would fall on the floor," the employee said. "People would pick it up and put it back in with the regular meat."
He expressed his concerns about the safety of products intended to be ready-to-eat and said that despite bringing these issues to management's attention, he felt dismissed.
"I was either ignored, the issues never got reported up the chain as they were supposed to be, or I was told to continue to process things," he explained. "I know from common sense and training that they were not and should not have been."
Frustrated with the lack of action, he decided to document the issues himself, despite the plant's policy prohibiting phones during work hours. He managed to take pictures using his watch.
"With my phone being connected to my watch, I was able to sneak them off," he said.
The employee noted a noticeable decline in sanitation practices toward the end of 2022 and took matters into his own hands by contacting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in March 2023.
After addressing the issue with two managers and multiple coworkers without resolution, he said he felt compelled to escalate the situation.
"They kept running the baloney and shipping it out," he said. "I feel after these two incidents, with nothing being done and meat being shipped out, I needed to go to a person higher up."
Following his complaints to the USDA, he said he received confirmations that his messages were received but never heard anything further. After the announcement of a Listeria outbreak linked to Boar's Head products in July, he said he reached out to the USDA again, only to be told they had not received any prior complaints.
Despite the plant's indefinite shutdown, the former employee, who continues to work in the industry, remains fearful of potential backlash for speaking out. He said he believes that if the USDA had taken his complaints seriously, the issues could have been addressed sooner, potentially saving lives.
