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Boar's Head Provision Company

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Boar's Head Provision Co., Inc. (also Boar's Head Brand, or Frank Brunckhorst Co., LLC) is a supplier of delicatessen meats, cheeses and condiments. The company was founded in 1905 in Brooklyn, New York, and now distributes its products throughout the United States. It has been based in Sarasota, Florida, since 2001.[2]

Boar's Head Provision Company
Boar's Head Brand
Company typePrivate
IndustryDelicatessen meats and cheeses
Founded1905; 119 years ago (1905), in Brooklyn, New York
FounderFrank Brunckhorst
Headquarters
Sarasota, Florida
,
United States
Area served
United States, Dominican Republic, Panama, Mexico
Key people
    • Robert S. Martin (Co-chief executive)[1]
    • Carlos Giraldo (President)
ProductsFranks, deli meat, cheeses, hummus, condiments, soups, pickles
Revenue$3 billion[1]
Owner
    • Brunckhorst family
    • Bischoff family
Websitewww.boarshead.com

The company is not publicly traded. Shares are closely held by the founder's descendants.[1]

History

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A display of Boar's Head meats and cheeses, taken at a King Kullen deli.

Frank Brunckhorst began distributing cold cuts and hot dogs under the Boar's Head name in 1905. By 1933, distribution of Boar's Head products had grown, and Brunckhorst and his partners, Bruno Bischoff and Theodore Weiler,[3] decided to open a manufacturing plant. The first plant was started in a small building in Brooklyn with three employees.

Brunckhorst's son (also Frank Brunckhorst) took over the business; Frank Brunckhorst II died in 1972 at age 65.[4] During the 1990s, the expanding company added processing plants in Virginia, Arkansas, and Michigan,[5] and it began to shift its strategy toward its current business model that stresses exclusive relationships with supermarket chains.[6][7] In 2001, the company moved its headquarters from Brooklyn to Sarasota, Florida, in part because of a close three decade-long partnership with Publix, which is based in nearby Lakeland.[6][8]

For many years, the voice-over in Boar's Head commercials was supplied by the voice performer Joseph Sirola.[9] In 2008, the company opened an "experimental" retail outlet in Brooklyn,[10][11] which closed the following year.[12]

Fatalities linked to products

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Main article: 2024 United States listeriosis outbreak

With an initial reported case of illness on May 29, 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined a listeriosis outbreak traced to Boar's Heads products, linked to 10 deaths and 59 hospitalizations as of September 25, 2024.[13] Unreported illnesses may have accounted for higher actual incidents of illness. This represented the largest listeriosis outbreak on record since 2011.[14] The company immediately recalled a large selection of products.[15] In July 2024, the company issued a recall on over 7 million pounds of its products produced at a plant in Greensville County, Virginia, near the town of Jarratt.[16] On September 13, 2024, Boar's Head announced that the Jarratt plant would close indefinitely and sales of liverwurst would be permanently discontinued.[17]

Ongoing monthly inspections from August 2023 through July 2024 at the Jarratt plant reported black mold, surfaces contaminated with "meat over-spray", and an unknown substance dripping from the ceiling. The Food Safety Inspection Service had observed multiple noncompliance findings every month from August 2023 through July 2024 in a 44-page report. Noncompliance was found in operations, labeling, and sanitation performance standards.[18][19]

Multiple lawsuits were filed against Boar's Head following the listeria outbreak alleging a wide range of complaints from false advertising to wrongful death.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Farrell, Maureen (October 13, 2024). "The Secretive Dynasty That Controls the Boar's Head Brand". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  2. ^ Curtis, Bryan (January 31, 2012). "Meat of the People". Slate. Archived from the original on June 16, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  3. ^ "Theodore R. Weiler (obituary)]". The New York Times. November 2, 1987. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  4. ^ "Frank Brunckhorst (obituary)]". The New York Times. November 11, 1972. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Growth of Boar's Head". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. July 29, 2002. Archived from the original on May 9, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Hielscher, John (April 24, 2001). "Boar's Head Moving to Sarasota". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  7. ^ Armstrong, Mike (July 30, 2009). "Dietz & Watson takes issue with Boar's Head business tactics". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  8. ^ "Metro Business Briefing; Boar's Head Moving". The New York Times. April 24, 2001. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  9. ^ Haun, Harry (August 21, 2014). "Joseph Sirola: A Late-Life Broadway Producer Hits It Big". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  10. ^ Rubenstein, Dana (September 11, 2008). "Boar's Head Experimental Storefront Opening in Brooklyn". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  11. ^ Gregerson, John. "Brooklyn Deli Shrouded in Mystery: Boar's Head Meats new R&D kitchen masquerades as a neighborhood deli". QSR Magazine. Archived from the original on December 24, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  12. ^ Voris, Robert (July 30, 2009). "Boar stiff! F. Martinella Deli closes on Court Street". The Brooklyn Paper. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  13. ^ "10th listeria death tied to Boar's Head deli meat". Washington Post. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  14. ^ "Investigation Update: Listeria Outbreak, Meats Sliced at Delis". U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. August 28, 2024. Archived from the original on September 1, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  15. ^ "Boar's Head Provisions Co. Recalls Ready-To-Eat Liverwurst And Other Deli Meat Products Due to Possible Listeria Contamination". Food Safety and Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. July 26, 2024. Archived from the original on September 1, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  16. ^ "Boar's Head Recalls 7 Million More Pounds of Meat Amid Listeria Outbreak". The New York Times. July 31, 2024.
  17. ^ Whitfill Roeloffs, Mary (September 13, 2024). "Everything To Know About The Listeria Outbreaks—As Boar's Head Plant Closes Indefinitely". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  18. ^ "USDA FSIS Public Health Information System, Noncompliance Report, Establishment Number(s): M12612 + P12612 from 08/01/2023 to 08/02/2024" (PDF). Food Safety Inspection Services, United States Department of Agriculture. August 2, 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 1, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  19. ^ "Boar's Head plant linked to deadly outbreak broke food safety rules dozens of times, records show". AP News. August 29, 2024. Archived from the original on September 1, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  20. ^ Metz, Sarah (September 6, 2024). "Boar's Head faces multiple lawsuits after its deli meat is linked to deadly listeria outbreak". CBS News. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
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