Fresh Take: A Family Feud And A Fatal Recall: Meet The Owners Behind Boar’s Head

It’s been a jam-packed Climate Week here in New York City. But I’ve barely had enough time to process all of the inspiring information—on top of the four panels I spoke on and all the folks I got to meet—because I’ve also been working on a big investigation. Out this morning is my latest feature: a deep-dive into the chaos inside Boar’s Head.

I hope you’ll give it a read. My story is about how, on top of the fatal listeria outbreak earlier this year and the shutdown of the plant where it started, a nasty beef among the founding families has left the billion-dollar deli meat empire in peril.

Boar’s Head may be the most secretive company I’ve dealt with in my decade at Forbes. My story explores how, in the aftermath of the deaths of at least 10 people and with nearly 60 hospitalized across some 19 states, the company that took a century to become the biggest deli meat brand in America is facing an existential threat—with multiple civil lawsuits, and talks of a congressional hearing as well as a Department of Justice investigation that could come with criminal charges. But the warring families who founded Boar’s Head seem more concerned about a series of petty legal battles over the billion-dollar brand. Click here to read all about the saga.

I’ll continue uncovering new layers to the Boar’s Head story, and in the meantime, I hope you have a great fall weekend!

— Chloe Sorvino, Staff Writer

Order my book, Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat, out now from Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books.

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Field Notes

Dried rice—provocatively served still on the plant that was farmed by Lundberg Family Farms— popped like a rice krispie treat in my mouth. Its exciting crackle kicked off a Climate Week dinner celebrating the Lundbergs and their regenerative organic certified and family-owned brand, hosted at chef Dan Barber’s Family Meal at Blue Hill in New York City.

Thanks for reading the 121st edition of Forbes Fresh Take! Let me know what you think. Subscribe to Forbes Fresh Take here.

Chloe Sorvino leads coverage of food and agriculture as a staff writer on the enterprise team at Forbes. Her book, Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat, published on December 6, 2022, with Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books. Her nearly nine years of reporting at Forbes has brought her to In-N-Out Burger’s secret test kitchen, drought-ridden farms in California’s Central Valley, burnt-out national forests logged by a timber billionaire, a century-old slaughterhouse in Omaha and even a chocolate croissant factory designed like a medieval castle in northern France.