No, refugees did not cause a deadly Boar’s Head listeria outbreak

The popular deli meat brand, Boar’s Head, has recalled more than 7 million pounds of meat after a listeria outbreak at a Virginia plant killed at least nine people and hospitalized 57. But the listeria outbreak was not caused by refugees, as some social media users have claimed. 

"Boar’s Head Brand meat prioritized hiring "refugees," and now nine Americans have died as a direct result of tainted meat that came from their Virginia processing plant," an X post read. 

The post includes a screenshot that shows Boar’s Head is a part of the Tent Coalition for Refugees in the U.S. 

Tent is an organization that helps companies hire "refugees and other forcibly displaced people, who arrive under a variety of legal immigration statuses," Haiwen Langworth, a Tent spokesperson, told PolitiFact in March for another fact-check about Tyson Foods hiring refugees through Tent. 

Boar’s Head Brand was listed Aug. 28 as a Tent partner, but the company has since been removed from the site. 

"In 2023 we explored Tent’s services but did not use them and never hired through its services," Boar’s Head spokesperson Elizabeth Ward told PolitiFact in an email. She added that Boar’s Head had asked for its logo to be removed from Tent’s website. Boar’s Head has not participated with any other refugee training program, Ward said. 

A Tent spokesperson  told PolitiFact on Sept. 3 that Boar’s Head is not working with Tent now and has not hired any refugees through its services. 

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Bill Gates dijo que "estamos tomando cosas que son ya sabes organismos genéticamente modificados y los estamos inyectando en los brazos de niños pequeños" en el contexto de las vacunas.

The listeria outbreak was tied to long-standing health and safety infractions at a Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt, Virginia. 

The U.S. Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service records show 69 federal rules violations from Aug. 1, 2023, to Aug. 1, 2024, at the Jarratt plant, a Freedom of Information Act request by CBS News revealed. Those included reports of insects, mold and mildew in the plant. 

Boar’s Head recalled every product from the Jarratt plant July 29 after testing confirmed a link between liverwurst produced at the plant and listeria cases. 

We rate the claim that nine Americans died from a listeria outbreak after Boar’s Head brand meat prioritized hiring "refugees" in Virginia False.