WH Group’s US pork processing plant to reopen in stages amid coronavirus controversy
- Smithfield Foods’ plant in Sioux Falls resumed operations after a more than three-week shutdown, with full operations by end of May
- Plant is part of Chinese-owned WH Group, which rang up US$24 billion in annual sales in 2019
Sioux Falls was thrust into the spotlight after becoming the largest coronavirus hotspot in the US, with 761 employees testing positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to local newspaper Argus Leader. The ranking has since decreased, it said.
Meat processing plants are among the greatest US coronavirus hotspots. More than 4,900 workers tested positive and 20 died from 115 plants across 19 states in March and April, according to a Bloomberg report.
Some workers are refusing to return, with union leaders saying new measures put into place by companies, such as temperature checks and face masks, aren’t enough to guarantee individuals’ safety.
Smithfield said it has confirmation to reopen from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Agriculture. The company will provide testing for its almost 4,000 staff before returning to work, with about half already tested.
‘Scared’ US workers stay home as coronavirus-infected meatpacking plants reopen
It will also provide team members with personal protective equipment, including masks and face shields, as well as mass thermal scanning and physical barriers on production floors and in break areas.
Last week, Trump ordered America’s meatpacking plants to stay open, as fears grow over food supply shortages and higher prices. US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue added that facilities would fully resume operations in 10 days.
The reopening is good news for 550 independent farmers who supply pigs to the Smithfield plant, Glenn Muller, executive director of South Dakota Pork Producers, said in a statement. “This is a significant and important step forward in normalising our food supply chain.”