10 people died. 59 people were hospitalized. The factory in Jarratt, Virginia, that made the liverwurst that killed them had documented records of the filth going back several years. That means product residue on food contact surfaces, black mold on walls, flies and ants, insects like cockroaches in coolers, water dripping on products, blood on floors, etc. If 10 people die from one meal, I want to know one thing more than anything else. Will the public be made aware of who is responsible and what the outcome will be?
I asked on June 2, 2026. I sent the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service a Freedom of Information Act request built around two questions that are actually important to accountability. First, what is the current status of law enforcement holds or inquiries on boar’s head records? Has the exemption 7(A) criteria been lifted by USDA for 2024? Second, to the extent possible, make records of referrals or transfers of boar’s heads between FSIS and the Department of Justice public. I also requested records that FSIS once withheld from the public as law enforcement materials, everything about the Associated Press’s appeal, and everything about the final enforcement action against the Jarratt plant. Because conditions have changed (the plant reopened in February 2026), I have asked FSIS to reevaluate whether the enforcement interference grounds filed in 2024 are still valid.
The answer was received on July 2, 2026. It’s worth a closer read, and I’ve attached all three documents below so you can read them for yourself.
78 pages released pursuant to FOIA No. 2026-FSIS-00209-F. Most of them you’ve seen before. The Associated Press has already released a loose version in early 2025. There is a suspension notice dated July 26, 2024, and a revised version four days later. It presents the whole bleak arithmetic that FSIS has known from the beginning. There are 34 patients across 13 states, all hospitalized with available information, two deaths, and linking liver disease to people through whole genome sequencing. A positive listeria swab was collected from Pallet Jack SH3 in a processing room with no walls between lines and no written plan to prevent personnel from transporting contaminants from one line to the next. I have a lab report. “For further processing,” the email said, the suspended plant requested continued shipments of raw materials from Jarratt, which FSIS gave its blessing “as long as all applicable regulations are met.” When the company asked for permission to dispose of the recalled product, a local representative responded, “Yes, just keep records,” according to an email.
This is the record of companies that received warnings, received warnings, and received warnings, and the regulators who observed them. It’s really terrible. But that’s not what I asked for.
| FSIS already has a paper trail. Non-compliance noted in Jarratt (Est. M12612) in published notice of suspension. Product residues on food and non-food contact surfaces (before operation): 2/3/24 · 2/29/24 · 3/14/24 · 3/22/24 · 4/19/24 · 5/20/24 · 6/28/24 · 7/6/24 · 7/19/24 Product residue from previous shift (Operation SSOP): June 7, 24 Insects — Insects such as flies, ants, ladybugs, and cockroaches: 2/7/24 · 2/11/24 · 3/15/24 · 6/10/24 · 6/26/24 · 7/12/24 · 7/17/24 Black mold/algae growth/unsanitary conditions: 2/22/24 · 6/24/6 · 6/28/24 · 7/12/24 · 7/17/24 · 7/23/24 · 7/24/24 If water leaks into the warehouse or product: June 10, 24 · July 6, 24 If condensation drips onto the product/glucose bag: July 9, 24 · July 12, 24 Inedible products have not been denatured and retain inspection marks. 2/8/24 · 2/21/24 · 4/8/24 · 4/24/24And this is only 2024. Federal investigators say Jarratt’s conditions “An immediate threat to public health.” As early as 2022. |
In 2024, FSIS withheld these records under FOIA Exemption 7(A). This is a law enforcement immunity that only kicks in when disclosing records “could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.” Don’t call it about a problem that doesn’t exist. Using these words in 2024 was the strongest public confirmation we’ve ever had that someone with a badge is looking hard at this company.
In the July 2, 2026 reply, exemption 7(A) was eliminated. FSIS will now only make modifications to Exemptions 4, 5, and 6: Trade Secrets, Review Procedures, and Privacy. He noted that there was absolutely no law enforcement interference. This is a meaningful signal. This means that whatever happens, FSIS no longer believes that releasing these specific records would be a proactive step.
Now take a look at the negative space. Because in FOIA responses, silence is the message.
I asked about the status of the law enforcement hold. On the June 4 confirmation call, our office narrowed the scope of the request and agreed to set those items aside to move forward with the rest. I will tell you about this myself. However, I also requested records of FSIS-DOJ referrals or transfers in a separate bullet that was never removed. The final response is a word-for-word recitation of the bulleted words at the top of the letter. Then nothing happens. There are no records. No Vaughn-style narrative description is withheld. There is no statement that no record of the response exists. There isn’t a single word about the Department of Justice in page 78.
And it doesn’t say a word about any other research I’m interested in. A review by USDA inspectors of how many years the plant was operated by its own inspectors while nonconformity reports piled up. If the government was investigating its own citizens, none of them would be here.
The immunity from law enforcement that once protected these records has quietly disappeared, signaling a cooling of concerns about interference. But whether that’s because the criminal matter was referred and is now on the docket for the Eastern District of Virginia, because the case was downsized, or because no charges were filed, there is no answer, and I don’t think FSIS intends to say. Grand jury secrecy under Rule 6(e) applies to the actual investigation. The agency is not asking for it, as if the DOJ bullets in my request were not written at all.
I have been representing people whose lives have been ruined by a single meal for over 30 years, and my stated goal has been to put food out of business by making it so safe that families no longer need lawyers like me. Food crime cases move slowly. The Peanut Corporation of America prosecution that sent Stewart Parnell to prison for 28 years took years to build. Chipotle’s $25 million deferred prosecution deal comes after an outbreak that began long before that. I do not charge a fee based on my preferred schedule.
I demand answers to fair and narrow questions. Is anyone still doing this? Can you tell the public how this ends? Giving back prosecutorial records we already had, revoking law enforcement immunity without explanation, and releasing 78 pages without once mentioning the word “Department of Justice” are not the answer. It looks like a shrug of determination.
There are still 10 deaths. Their families are still waiting. I plan to keep asking.
https://www.marlerblog.com/files/2026/07/FOIA_USDA_FSIS_BoarsHead2-1.pdf
https://www.marlerblog.com/files/2026/07/FSIS-FOIA-No.-2026-FSIS-00209-F-Final-Response-Letter.pdf
https://www.marlerblog.com/files/2026/07/2026-FSIS-00209-F-Final-Records.pdf
