Boar’s Head Brand and the family of a Holocaust survivor who died from a listeria infection after eating the company’s canned deli food have settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed in Sarasota County.
The plaintiff’s counsel, Ron Simon & Associates, announced on Dec. 13 that the lawsuit filed in Florida’s 12th Judicial Circuit Court by the family of Gunter Morgenstein in September had been settled. The terms of the settlement, however, are confidential, according to a statement emailed to the Florida Record.
Morgenstein, a Virginia resident, died on July 18 after consuming Boar's Head liverwurst, according to the lawsuit filed by Ron Simon & Associates. After being rushed to a hospital, Morgenstein developed a fever, an accelerated heart rate, plummeting red blood counts and sepsis, according to the lawsuit.
“(The) settlement with Boar’s Head reflects our commitment to holding food manufacturers accountable for the safety of their products,” Simon said in a statement. “While no resolution can undo the profound loss suffered by the Morgenstein family, it will bring them a measure of closure so that they can move forward with their lives.”
The law firm indicated that at least one part of the settlement involved a promise from Boar’s Head to improve its food safety inspections.
“Gunter did not die in vain,” the deceased’s widow, Peggy Morganstein, said. “As a result of this terrible tragedy, and the efforts of Ron Simon and his team, Boar's Head has committed itself to making their food processes safer for everyone. This is something Gunter would have wanted.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said that the multistate listeria monocytogenes outbreak earlier this year led to the identification of 61 people who were sickened. Of those, 60 people were hospitalized, and 10 people died from the outbreak, which led Boar’s Head to recall deli products made at its Jarratt, Va., plant, including ready-to-eat liverwurst products, the agencies reported.
“Epidemiologic, laboratory and traceback data showed that meats sliced at deli counters, including Boar's Head brand liverwurst, were contaminated with listeria and made people sick,” the USDA said in November.
In the wake of the outbreak, Boar’s Head recalled the liverwurst and other products. The recall included about 7 million pounds of products made at the Jarratt plant, according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The company did not respond to a request for comment. The Boar’s Head website now contains a food safety section.
“Strict food safety standards and protocols are embedded in our processes and procedures, which extend from our manufacturing facilities to our suppliers and partners,” the company’s website states. “Team members receive ongoing, comprehensive training to ensure they understand and uphold these standards, and we foster a strong culture of food safety.”
In September, two federal lawmakers – Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, both of Connecticut – said in a letter to the USDA and the Department of Justice that Boar’s Head should be held accountable for the listeria outbreak and called on the agencies to determine whether criminal charges should be filed against company officials.
“... It is baffling that (federal food) inspectors at the Jarratt plant documented 84 noncompliances from June 2023 through this August, many of which indicated significant safety risks, and the agency failed to recognize the blatant pattern of violations or escalate to enforcement when Boar’s Head safety officials failed to take adequate corrective actions necessary to prevent further risks,” the letter states.