Is The Meat Supply Chain At Risk? Several Workers Test Positive For COVID-19

Consumers have been faced with a number of food shortages as panic buying during the coronavirus pandemic caused demand for some products to increase. From flour to yeast and rice and, of course, toilet paper, grocery stores are working with suppliers to fill the needs of customers that are looking to stock up on these essentials.

Shortages in the meat industry may also be seen as processing facilities shut down, and production volumes drop over concerns about the coronavirus. On Thursday, Smithfield Foods announced that it would close its Sioux Falls, South Dakota, plant for three days after a portion of its workers tested positive for COVID-19.

The company plans to undergo rigorous cleaning and sanitation during this period – a measure it is taking out of an abundance of caution for its 3,700 employees that work at the facility. It has been confirmed that Smithfield had more than 80 workers that tested positive for the coronavirus, Argus Leader reported.

“Smithfield Foods is taking the utmost precautions and actions to ensure the health and wellbeing of our employees – with an even increased emphasis on our critical role in the ongoing supply of food to American families,” Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and chief executive officer at Smithfield, said in a statement.

“Our Sioux Falls plant supplies nearly 130 million servings of food per week, or about 18 million servings per day, to our country. Our more than 40,000 U.S. team members, thousands of American family farmers and our many other supply chain partners are a crucial part of our nation’s response to COVID-19,” he added.

Smithfield is not alone in its decision to temporarily close as Cargill and Maple Leaf have suspended their meat processing operation after a number of employees tested positive for COVID-19, according to Meat + Poultry. Cargill reportedly closed its Hazelton, Pennsylvania processing plant, where about 900 employees work, on Tuesday indefinitely.

Maple Leaf also suspended operations indefinitely at its Brampton Ontario plant after three workers tested positive for COVID-19. The company is reportedly currently cleaning its facilities and investigating the spread of the virus between its workers.

“Today, we are suspending operations in our Brampton Poultry plant in Brampton, Ontario , out of an abundance of caution while we complete an investigation into three COVID cases that have occurred with people working at that facility,” the company said in a statement.

“Our first priority is to keep our people safe so the decision was made to shut down the facility, pending a full risk assessment. While we complete the investigation, we are deep cleaning the plant including common areas and offices. Our goal is to complete the investigation and the deep cleaning as quickly as reasonably possible. We will not begin operating again until we are confident that it is safe to return to work.”

Sanderson Farms has reduced its poultry output by a quarter to 1 million birds per week, down from the 1.3 million it previously processed, according to Reuters. Perdue Farms said it will install partitions between workers, while also increasing hourly wages. Tyson Foods has also started using infrared body temperature scanners at its plants and has shut down its Columbus Junction, Iowa, pork plant after more than two dozen workers tested positive for COVID-19.

According to Bloomberg, retail demand for meat products is on the rise as consumers stockpile during the coronavirus crisis in fear of food shortages, which is further complicated by these production shutdown and capacity reductions.