The U.S. Department of Agriculture has found dozens of violations – including insects, mold and pools of blood – at a Boar’s Head factory in Virginia that have been linked to a deadly listeria outbreak that killed nine people, according to newly released department documents.

Agriculture Department officials logged 69 incidents of noncompliance with federal regulations at the Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt between Aug. 1, 2023, and Aug. 2, 2024, according to documents obtained by CBS News through a federal Freedom of Information Act request.

CBS News first reported the results.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nine people have died and 57 have been hospitalized after eating Boar’s Head products contaminated with listeria. The outbreak has been reported in 18 states, and the deaths have occurred in Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico, South Carolina, Illinois, New Jersey and Virginia.

Boar’s Head recalled 7 million pounds of “ready-to-eat meat and poultry products” from its Jarratt plant on July 30 after genome sequencing tests on a liver sausage sample came back positive for the Listeria monocytogenes strain linked to the multi-state outbreak. This came just days after an initial recall of more than 200,000 pounds of Boar’s Head products.

According to the documents, on August 8, 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture reported “severe discoloration of the meat” on a hydraulic pump in the factory and on the motor of an inspection line, and again reported “severe meat deposits” on the walls of a room in the factory on June 10.

On June 10, flies were observed “flying in and out” of pickle tubs and “small mosquito-like insects were observed crawling along the walls and flying around the room.” According to the documents, the department reported a “constant line of ants” and “the presence of flying insects” in the same room. Also reported on the same day were “7 ladybugs, 1 beetle-like insect, and 1 cockroach-like insect.”

On July 17, both dead and live insects were found in the factory, and again on July 25 in a corridor of a smokehouse where over 400 kilograms of ham were stored.

According to the documents, a “black mold-like substance” was discovered at the factory on Jan. 9, with some spots “as large as a quarter.” Inspectors reported four more mold and, in one case, mildew finds at the factory in June and July.

During the months-long inspection, several leaks were reported throughout the facility, including a puddle on July 17 that had “formed green algae,” documents show.

On February 21, inspectors reported “large amounts of blood in pools on the floor” of a cooler that also gave off a “rancid odor,” the documents say.

A Boar’s Head spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News on Thursday that the company “deeply regrets the impact this recall will have on the families affected.” The spokesperson added that food safety is “an absolute priority” for the company.

“Because we are a USDA-inspected food producer, the agency has inspectors at our Jarratt, Virginia facility every day, and if at any time the inspectors find something that needs to be corrected, our team will do so immediately, as has been the case with every single issue raised by the USDA in this report,” the statement said.

The spokesperson said all operations at the Jarratt plant had been suspended and that an investigation into the “incidents leading to this recall” was ongoing. The statement also said the plant was being disinfected and employees were receiving additional training.

It was not immediately clear whether Boar’s Head would face penalties from the Department of Agriculture for the reported violations.