Replies

13 U.S. meat plants are down - 25% of pork and 10% of beef

Deena Shanker, Michael Hirtzer, Jen Skerritt and Lydia Mulvany, Bloomberg

Published 8:28 am CDT, Friday, April 24, 2020
The U.S. is edging closer to possible meat shortages with another major plant shut down.

About a quarter of American pork production and 10% of beef output has now been shuttered, according to the United Food & Commercial Workers, which estimates that 13 U.S. plants are down.

On Thursday, Tyson Foods said it was shutting its beef facility in Pasco, Washington, fresh on the heels of the company idling two key pork plants. Case counts are continuing to mount, including in Canada, where industry groups are saying they’ll probably hold back some supplies usually exported to the U.S. And the head of JBS, the world’s top meat producer, is warning of shortfalls.

Meanwhile, 100 U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The workers, part of the Food Safety and Inspection Service that employs about 6,500 inspectors, have been traveling between plants with known infections to other facilities. And at least one inspector has died after apparently contracting the disease the virus causes, Covid-19, according to information the federal agency provided Thursday during a phone call...

https://www.chron.com/business/article/13-U-S-meat-plants-are-down-pork-beef-shortage-15223469.php

******

13 U.S. meat industry workers have died of COVID-19, union says

BY KATE GIBSON

APRIL 24, 2020 / 11:58 AM / MONEYWATCH
The union that represents 250,000 meatpacking and poultry plant workers is calling for improved protections for those on the front lines of sustaining the nation’s food supply as the coronavirus spreads.

Ten meatpacking workers and three food processing workers have died of COVID-19, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). In addition, at least 5,000 meatpacking workers and 1,500 food processing workers have been directly impacted by the virus, from testing positive for the disease it causes to missing work due to self-quarantine while they await test results, the labor group said.

The union’s tally of fatalities is lower than one compiled by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, The center found that as of April 23 there have been at least 3,400 reported positive cases tied to meatpacking facilities at 62 plants in 23 states and at least 17 reported worker deaths at eight plants in eight states.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-covid19-meat-food-workers/