As meat-processing factories struggle to reopen, government documents warn of shortages
On May 7, Smithfield Foods meatpacking plant in Sioux Falls, S.D., site of one of the biggest outbreaks of the coronavirus, reopened after coronavirus infections swept through the workforce.
“Analysts suggest that meat supply chain disruptions could see 20 percent higher prices than last year and potential spot shortages of meat in certain markets by the end of May,” says an internal government senior leadership briefing slide dated May 12, and reviewed by Yahoo News. Since that time, at least a dozen meat plants owned by meat giants Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods, Cargill, USA Holdings and JBS have paused operations, though only two are still closed as of May 14. At least 213 meatpacking and processed food plants and nine farms have confirmed cases, and approximately 14,259 meatpacking workers have tested positive for COVID-19, with 65 deaths, according to the Food and Environment Reporting Network.
“State and local health departments are heavily involved in decisions related to the plants and their employees,” the CDC said. “States were asked to provide aggregated data concerning the number of meat- and poultry-processing facilities impacted by COVID-19, and the number of workers with COVID-19 in these facilities, including deaths.” The CDC has made those findings public.
A USDA spokesperson said in an email that President Trump issued an executive order declaring that meat and poultry processors meet newly established criteria under the Defense Production Act. The USDA also said they are directing processing plants to operate in accordance with the CDC and OSHA guidance and requiring establishments to provide written documentation of mitigation plans for review by the USDA-led federal leadership team.
“You see a highly stylized, highly efficient process,” Hart said. “We had concentrated folks into large facilities because they are economies of scale. The more you can do in one building, the cheaper it is.” “Initially policy makers thought we could shut off some parts of the supply chain and leave others,” he said. “What we’re discovering is that we have a far more interconnected supply chain within food and agriculture than we thought.”
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