Central Virginia Boar’s Head plant linked to deadly listeria outbreak has reopened
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Editor's Note: This article contains images of unsanitary food manufacturing conditions that some may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.
GREENSVILLE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The Central Virginia Boar's Head plant at the center of a listeria outbreak that left 10 people dead has officially reopened, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
In late July 2024, the Boar’s Head Provisions Co., Inc. plant located in the Jarratt area of Greensville County recalled a variety of meat products due to possible listeria contamination. The resulting outbreak would go on to kill 10 people across several states, including an 88-year-old Virginia man.
In the weeks and months that followed, our 8News team sat down with multiple people related to the plant to try and figure out what went wrong.
The disturbing findings they were able to share — from shocking firsthand accounts to disturbing never-before-seen photos taken from inside the troubled plant — suggested that systemic issues may have existed long before the deadly outbreak.
Never-before-seen photos taken at the Jarratt Boar's Head plant. (Photo provided by an anonymous employee.)
Never-before-seen photos taken at the Jarratt Boar's Head plant. (Photo provided by an anonymous employee.)
Never-before-seen photos taken at the Jarratt Boar's Head plant. (Photo provided by an anonymous employee.)
Never-before-seen photos taken at the Jarratt Boar's Head plant. (Photo provided by an anonymous employee.)
Never-before-seen photos taken at the Jarratt Boar's Head plant. (Photo provided by an anonymous employee.)
“Meat would fall on the floor,” the employee who took the photos shown above told 8News in October 2024. “People would pick it up and put it back in with the regular meat.”
Soon after the recall was announced, the plant was shut down, with officials saying at the time that the closure would be indefinite. However, in August 2025, 8News learned that Boar's Head was taking steps towards reopening.
That reopening officially took place on Monday, Feb. 2 -- nearly a year and a half after the deadly outbreak took place. Boar's Head's chief food safety officer Natalie Dyenson reportedly told the AP that the facility has "literally been rebuilt from the inside out."
According to Dyenson, the plant's floors, drains and air filtration systems have all been replaced, and its production areas for raw and ready-to-eat food have been separated. Nearly 12,000 swabs were taken to test for listeria.
Additionally, the facility has new management and staff, Dyenson said.
“As I tried to establish different ways of cleaning, there was a lot of pushback,” former on-site sanitation manager Terrence Boyce told 8News in September 2024, speaking of his experiences prior to the plant's closure. “Pushback on old methodology, things they used to do that nobody does anymore … If you push against management, I think you become a target.”
Though Dyenson stressed to the AP that Boar's Head has gone above and beyond to ensure safety at the Jarrett plant, continued issues at the nearby Boar's Head plant in Petersburg have some officials feeling dubious.
MORE: USDA releases report detailing ‘unsanitary conditions’ at Boar’s Head plant in Petersburg
Between 2019 and 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found the Petersburg plant to be unsanitary, noting things like mold on the ceiling and walls, insects, condensation falling into food and more.
As recently as December 2025, the plant was still found to have compliance issues, per the AP -- including that it had failed to follow Boar's Head's written listeria testing and monitoring procedures.
“It’s not helpful in rebuilding that trust if the inspection reports from Petersburg highlight a deeper food safety cultural problem within the company,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy for Consumer Reports, said in an email to the AP.
Dyenson told the AP that, while these findings may be "disturbing," Boar's Head is actively working to reduce noncompliance issues to "zero."
This is a developing story, stay with 8News for updates.
