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Boar's Head plant posed an 'imminent threat' years before listeria outbreak

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Boar's Head plant posed an 'imminent threat' years before listeria outbreak

#31

Post by ryandrake »

cdchn wrote: post #21
adrianco wrote: post #7

I wonder if the other Boars Head plants also have issues. Avoid the entire brand? What brands have better hygiene?

I always thought Boars Head _was_ the premium brand.

Pretty scary how many people get fooled by "premium" branding. Think about what made you think that Boars Head was "premium". Was there any evidence that their meats were higher than average quality, that didn't ultimately come from the company itself? Or was it all their product positioning, price, what stores they were found in and so on (in other words, Marketing).

Re: Boar's Head plant posed an 'imminent threat' years before listeria outbreak

#33

Post by MisterTea »

The town is tiny with a population of 652 people. Seems like a perfect scenario for the company: setup plant in small town to employ cheap labor, be the largest employer in the town, use that leverage to prevent action taken against them. I can hear it now... "Now hold on here, we can't go shutting down the largest employer of registered voters in town. I personally spoke to the plant manager and they assured me they are committed to fixing the issues. Plant stays open." - The Mayor

Re: Boar's Head plant posed an 'imminent threat' years before listeria outbreak

#35

Post by sandyarmstrong »

ryandrake wrote: post #31
cdchn wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always thought Boars Head _was_ the premium brand.

Pretty scary how many people get fooled by "premium" branding. Think about what made you think that Boars Head was "premium". Was there any evidence that their meats were higher than average quality, that didn't ultimately come from the company itself? Or was it all their product positioning, price, what stores they were found in and so on (in other words, Marketing).

Compared to other brands available in the supermarket, my family finds that Boar's Head deli meats consistently taste better. There is something "cheap" that I find hard to quantify in the taste of generic grocery branded deli meats.

I'm not educated enough to know what the difference is here, but I don't think the fact that Boar's Head costs more is entirely a marketing device.

Re: Boar's Head plant posed an 'imminent threat' years before listeria outbreak

#36

Post by dan_quixote »

cdchn wrote: post #21
adrianco wrote: post #7

I wonder if the other Boars Head plants also have issues. Avoid the entire brand? What brands have better hygiene?

I always thought Boars Head _was_ the premium brand.

Did you ever try the previous brands available at your grocer before Boars Head cornered the market? For my local grocers it was an immediate reduction in variety, increase in price and equal-to-worse quality. Nothing about that move was better for the customer.

Re: Boar's Head plant posed an 'imminent threat' years before listeria outbreak

#37

Post by nathan_compton »

adrianco wrote: post #7

I wonder if the other Boars Head plants also have issues. Avoid the entire brand? What brands have better hygiene?

I avoid pork entirely. The business is outrageously cruel and dirty even by industrial farming standards.

Re: Boar's Head plant posed an 'imminent threat' years before listeria outbreak

#38

Post by dan_quixote »

Suppafly wrote: post #28
nerdjon wrote: post #20

As more has come out about this, it is quite disappointing. I used to swear by Boars Head and would choose the store I am going too based on if they carried it. A mistake happening and causing a serious problem is still obviously bad, but is one thing. But from what they are describing I have no idea how this was able to continue running. I know right now it is stopping me from getting basically any deli meat or simi…

>I used to swear by Boars Head and would choose the store I am going too based on if they carried it. This, we used to get meat from the 'good' Kroger because their deli had a better selection than the one in our neighborhood. If the premium brand is poison, I'm not sure what that says for the budget brands.

I think your perception of "premium" is flawed in this case.

Re: Boar's Head plant posed an 'imminent threat' years before listeria outbreak

#39

Post by undersuit »

MisterTea wrote: post #33

The town is tiny with a population of 652 people. Seems like a perfect scenario for the company: setup plant in small town to employ cheap labor, be the largest employer in the town, use that leverage to prevent action taken against them. I can hear it now... "Now hold on here, we can't go shutting down the largest employer of registered voters in town. I personally spoke to the plant manager and they assured me they…

Maybe even some county officials like the Sheriff making sure the plant runs smoothly.

Re: Boar's Head plant posed an 'imminent threat' years before listeria outbreak

#40

Post by darby_nine »

matwood wrote: post #18
darby_nine wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you distinguish these behaviors?

There are a lot of regulations. They were inspected. They failed inspections. Then the inspectors did nothing. All the additional regulations can be added that we want, but if the inspectors don't close the plant, they are meaningless.

Sure, but regulation without enforcement is a meaningless concept. This just looks like defacto lack of regulation to me.
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