When AP health writer JoNel Aleccia learned that a deadly listeria outbreak had been tied to a Boar’s Head factory in Virginia, she wondered: Did other Boar’s Head factories have similar problems?
Knowing USDA documents held answers, she filed a Freedom of Information Act request. The agency initially denied her request, but Aleccia crafted an appeal with help from AP’s legal team. The USDA relented.
The FOIA reports revealed that Boar’s Head didn’t have just one problem factory—it had four. The reports described meat and fat residue left on equipment and walls, dripping condensation falling on food, slime, mold, and insects.
Aleccia worked quickly to file the story on the same day major spot news broke on her beat—the FDA banning red dye No. 3. Her findings were cited by several other major news organizations, including CBS, which had been aggressively pursuing the Boar’s Head story.
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