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Fears grow for the nation's food supply as Tyson halts operations and processing plants become coronavirus hotspots - with workers at Chinese-owned Smithfield saying they were given hair nets to wear as face masks
Processing plants in ten states have now reported outbreaks as Tyson Food Inc. suspended operations Wednesday at an Iowa plant that is critical to the nation's pork supply.
More than 180 infections have been linked to the plant and officials expect that number to dramatically rise.
It is at least the ninth major plant across the US forced to reduce operations or close altogether due to outbreaks among their employees.
It comes as shocking details emerge about the lack of protective equipment provided to plant workers around the country.
At Smithfield's Sioux Falls plant, the location of one of the country's worst coronavirus clusters with more than 760 employees infected, staff claim they were given hairnets instead of masks to cover their faces.
Workers at the Kraft Heinz food plant in Holland, Michigan, also claim that the company has been slow in providing personnel protective equipment as two workers there test positive.
![[IMG]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04/22/16/27511164-8245503-image-a-20_1587567690750.jpg "[IMG]")
Workers at Smithfield's pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, claim they were provided with these hair nets instead of proper face masks. The factory, which is now closed, has one of the largest cluster outbreaks in the country infecting more than 760 workers
![[IMG]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04/22/16/27511192-8245503-image-a-22_1587567721548.jpg "[IMG]")
As Tyson becomes the third large pork processing plant to close following a coronavirus outbreak, there are fears about a break in the food supply and a shortage of fresh meat. Pictured is an empty chicken and poultry food case in New Jersey on March 13
![[IMG]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04/22/16/27511184-8245503-image-a-21_1587567708393.jpg "[IMG]")
Tyson will close its pork processing facility in Waterloo, Iowa, as the meat processing industry takes another hit amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company will continue to pay workers
Tyson became the third major U.S. pork shutdown Wednesday as they were forced to close their Waterloo facility in Iowa, adding to concerns about the country's meat supply.
The Iowa plant is critical to the nation's pork supply but had been blamed for fueling a massive coronavirus outbreak in the community.
Tyson had kept the facility, its largest pork plant, open in recent days over the objections of local officials.
The plant can process 19,500 hogs per day, accounting for nearly 4 percent of U.S. pork processing capacity, according to the National Pork Board.
More than 180 infections have been linked to the plant and officials expect that number to dramatically rise.
![[IMG]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04/22/16/27506556-8245503-image-a-24_1587567741797.jpg "[IMG]")
A 65-year-old employee in the plant's laundry department died Sunday after contracting the virus, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier newspaper reported.
The plant was already running at reduced levels due to worker absenteeism but will now close until further notice, according to a statement released Wednesday.
Workers will continue to be paid while the factory is closed and there will be coronavirus testing held there for all 2,800 employees this week.
The company said its other meat and poultry plants are continuing to operate although some at a reduced level.
The closure of the Waterloo facility comes as the meatpacking industry, in particular, struggles to prevent the spread of coronavirus among its workers.
Closures are having a cascading effect on the supply chain as farmers, truckers, distributors and supermarkets are all affected.
'It means the loss of a vital market outlet for farmers and further contributes to the disruption of the nation's pork supply,' Steve Stouffer, group president of Tyson Fresh Meats, said in the statement.
Employers have struggled to contain the virus in meatpacking plants, where workers toil side by side on production lines and often share crowded locker rooms, cafeterias and rides to work.
While plants have added safety measures, public health experts say social distancing is virtually impossible in them.
Tyson's Waterloo closure was the third major pork shutdown after JBS SA shuttered its pork-processing facility in Minnesota and Smithfield Foods Inc. closed its slaughter plant in South Dakota.
The closed Smithfield plant is one of the nation's largest pork processing facilities, representing 4 percent to 5 percent of U.S. pork production, according to the company.
It has also become the location of one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the country, as staff express fears they have not been provided with adequate protective equipment.
More than 760 workers were infected as of Wednesday.
Speaking to Good Morning America, forklift operator Michael Bul Gayo Gatluak said that they were provided with a hair or beard net to cover their mouth and nose instead of a mask.
According to the Argus Leader, before the plant's closure, many workers were bringing in their own homemade masks because they were unhappy with the ones provided, which were not made with CDC-recommended face mask material.
Workers were also reportedly offered a $500 'responsibility bonus' if they didn't miss work in April.
![[IMG]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04/22/16/27511178-8245503-image-a-27_1587567928588.jpg "[IMG]")
Smithfield forklift operator Michael Bul Gayo Gatluak told Good Morning America that the employees at the coronavirus hotspot were given hairnets instead of facemasks at the plant
![[IMG]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04/22/16/27511170-8245503-image-m-33_1587568037655.jpg "[IMG]")
![[IMG]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04/22/16/27511168-8245503-image-a-34_1587568053334.jpg "[IMG]")
Employees at Smithfield's Sioux Falls plant posted pictures of their mask to Facebook
'Because management drug its feet and didn't act quickly, that's why it's a hot spot,' said Kooper Caraway, president of the Sioux Falls AFL-CIO, a labor federation that represents local unions, including the Smithfield United Food and Workers Union.
'And we're seeing the cases go up every day. No matter what the latest numbers are, I promise you there's more than that.'
Chinese-owned Smithfield has said it is doing it can to protect its staff.
'We are doing everything in our power to protect our team members from Covid-19 in the workplace, implementing 17 measures including boosting protective equipment like masks,' it said in a statement.
Workers at the Kraft Heinz food production plant in Holland Michigan also voiced concern about the protective equipment supplied after two workers tested positive Tuesday.
Three more are presumed to have the virus and others are in self-quarantine.
![[IMG]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04/22/16/27511186-8245503-image-a-39_1587568151569.jpg "[IMG]")
Kraft Heinz Company's Holland plant remains open despite two employees testing positive for coronavirus with three more thought infected. The plant closed Sunday for cleaning
The plant remains open but was closed Sunday for extensive cleaning, Kraft Heinz Corporate Affairs Senior Vice President Michael Mullen said in a statement.
A union representing the plant's 227 employees, however, has said that there have been no 'real negotiations around essential pay and quarantine procedures', according to the Detroit Free Press.
'Weeks ago, workers were promised masks, and they're still yet to arrive, despite promises from management day after day that they would,' the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Local 705 said.
The union also criticized the company for supplying a $100 bonus only to workers who were not absent, meaning those who are out sick or in quarantine do not qualify.
Mullens argued that the masks should arrive at the plant this week and that employees are no longer being asked to take vacation days if they need to quarantine.
He added that social distancing procedures have been added to production lines and temperature checks will begin next week.
'We've been able to implement some social distancing measures in the plant but it's not possible to completely change the way the manufacturing process is configured and still operate and still meet this high level of demand,' Patrick Criteser, President and CEO of Tillamook County Creamery Association, told Good Morning America.
'Some of the jobs, they are literally elbow to elbow. Some ways they stand a little bit apart but most of the ways they're side by side right, the way down the line,' one meatpacking inspector warned.
So far meat processing plants have been hit the hardest with ten states reporting an outbreak among employees.
Reduced meat output from the shutdowns threatens to tighten supplies of certain products at a time when demand is rising at grocery stores as the United States battles COVID-19.
Food producers say that there should be no long-term food shortages but there may be spot shortages in items such as fresh meat.
![[IMG]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04/22/16/27511176-8245503-image-a-35_1587568109453.jpg "[IMG]")
Patrick Criteser, President and CEO of Tillamook County Creamery Association, told Good Morning America that it is not possible to implement all social distancing guidelines in the food processing plant line and still keep operating and meeting demand from stores
![[IMG]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04/22/16/27511174-8245503-image-a-36_1587568114471.jpg "[IMG]")
This meatpacking inspector identified only as Kevin said that some parts of the food processing line require people to be side by side making social distancing impossible
Lockdowns that aim to stop the spread of the coronavirus have also prevented farmers across the globe from delivering food products to consumers.
Millions of laborers also cannot get to the fields for harvesting and planting, and there are too few truckers to keep goods moving.
Grocery store workers are also showing massive numbers of infection as they continue to work through the crowds of shoppers.
There are at least 3,000 grocery store workers showing symptoms and more than two dozen have died from the virus.
'The 95 percent of them, and higher, believe they are going to catch the virus because of what is happening in those stores because people aren't doing social distancing,' warned Marc Perone, International President of the United Food Commercial Workers International Union.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, there is no evidence of food or food packaging being associated with the transmission of coronavirus.
Scientists also say that temperatures above 135 Fahrenheit quickly kill coronavirus, meaning any meat cooked according to instructions should be free of the pathogen.
Fears grow for food supply as Tyson halts operations, processing plants become coronavirus hotspots | Daily Mail Online
- Tyson became the third major U.S. pork shutdown Wednesday announcing the closure of their plant in Waterloo, Iowa
- The plant is critical to the nation's pork supply
- 180 employees have coronavirus and more positive tests are expected
- Employees at Kraft Heinz' Holland, Michigan, plant criticized the company for not providing face masks as two employees test positive
- The plant remains open despite the outbreak
- Staff at Smithfield's closed Sioux Falls plant have also hit out about the lack of safe protective equipment provided
- They say they were given hair and beard nets instead of face masks
- The plant is now one of the largest coronavirus clusters in the United States with 760 employees testing positive
Processing plants in ten states have now reported outbreaks as Tyson Food Inc. suspended operations Wednesday at an Iowa plant that is critical to the nation's pork supply.
More than 180 infections have been linked to the plant and officials expect that number to dramatically rise.
It is at least the ninth major plant across the US forced to reduce operations or close altogether due to outbreaks among their employees.
It comes as shocking details emerge about the lack of protective equipment provided to plant workers around the country.
At Smithfield's Sioux Falls plant, the location of one of the country's worst coronavirus clusters with more than 760 employees infected, staff claim they were given hairnets instead of masks to cover their faces.
Workers at the Kraft Heinz food plant in Holland, Michigan, also claim that the company has been slow in providing personnel protective equipment as two workers there test positive.
Workers at Smithfield's pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, claim they were provided with these hair nets instead of proper face masks. The factory, which is now closed, has one of the largest cluster outbreaks in the country infecting more than 760 workers
As Tyson becomes the third large pork processing plant to close following a coronavirus outbreak, there are fears about a break in the food supply and a shortage of fresh meat. Pictured is an empty chicken and poultry food case in New Jersey on March 13
Tyson will close its pork processing facility in Waterloo, Iowa, as the meat processing industry takes another hit amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company will continue to pay workers
Tyson became the third major U.S. pork shutdown Wednesday as they were forced to close their Waterloo facility in Iowa, adding to concerns about the country's meat supply.
The Iowa plant is critical to the nation's pork supply but had been blamed for fueling a massive coronavirus outbreak in the community.
Tyson had kept the facility, its largest pork plant, open in recent days over the objections of local officials.
The plant can process 19,500 hogs per day, accounting for nearly 4 percent of U.S. pork processing capacity, according to the National Pork Board.
More than 180 infections have been linked to the plant and officials expect that number to dramatically rise.
A 65-year-old employee in the plant's laundry department died Sunday after contracting the virus, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier newspaper reported.
The plant was already running at reduced levels due to worker absenteeism but will now close until further notice, according to a statement released Wednesday.
Workers will continue to be paid while the factory is closed and there will be coronavirus testing held there for all 2,800 employees this week.
The company said its other meat and poultry plants are continuing to operate although some at a reduced level.
The closure of the Waterloo facility comes as the meatpacking industry, in particular, struggles to prevent the spread of coronavirus among its workers.
Closures are having a cascading effect on the supply chain as farmers, truckers, distributors and supermarkets are all affected.
'It means the loss of a vital market outlet for farmers and further contributes to the disruption of the nation's pork supply,' Steve Stouffer, group president of Tyson Fresh Meats, said in the statement.
Employers have struggled to contain the virus in meatpacking plants, where workers toil side by side on production lines and often share crowded locker rooms, cafeterias and rides to work.
While plants have added safety measures, public health experts say social distancing is virtually impossible in them.
Tyson's Waterloo closure was the third major pork shutdown after JBS SA shuttered its pork-processing facility in Minnesota and Smithfield Foods Inc. closed its slaughter plant in South Dakota.
The closed Smithfield plant is one of the nation's largest pork processing facilities, representing 4 percent to 5 percent of U.S. pork production, according to the company.
It has also become the location of one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the country, as staff express fears they have not been provided with adequate protective equipment.
More than 760 workers were infected as of Wednesday.
Speaking to Good Morning America, forklift operator Michael Bul Gayo Gatluak said that they were provided with a hair or beard net to cover their mouth and nose instead of a mask.
According to the Argus Leader, before the plant's closure, many workers were bringing in their own homemade masks because they were unhappy with the ones provided, which were not made with CDC-recommended face mask material.
Workers were also reportedly offered a $500 'responsibility bonus' if they didn't miss work in April.
Smithfield forklift operator Michael Bul Gayo Gatluak told Good Morning America that the employees at the coronavirus hotspot were given hairnets instead of facemasks at the plant
Employees at Smithfield's Sioux Falls plant posted pictures of their mask to Facebook
'Because management drug its feet and didn't act quickly, that's why it's a hot spot,' said Kooper Caraway, president of the Sioux Falls AFL-CIO, a labor federation that represents local unions, including the Smithfield United Food and Workers Union.
'And we're seeing the cases go up every day. No matter what the latest numbers are, I promise you there's more than that.'
Chinese-owned Smithfield has said it is doing it can to protect its staff.
'We are doing everything in our power to protect our team members from Covid-19 in the workplace, implementing 17 measures including boosting protective equipment like masks,' it said in a statement.
Workers at the Kraft Heinz food production plant in Holland Michigan also voiced concern about the protective equipment supplied after two workers tested positive Tuesday.
Three more are presumed to have the virus and others are in self-quarantine.
Kraft Heinz Company's Holland plant remains open despite two employees testing positive for coronavirus with three more thought infected. The plant closed Sunday for cleaning
The plant remains open but was closed Sunday for extensive cleaning, Kraft Heinz Corporate Affairs Senior Vice President Michael Mullen said in a statement.
A union representing the plant's 227 employees, however, has said that there have been no 'real negotiations around essential pay and quarantine procedures', according to the Detroit Free Press.
'Weeks ago, workers were promised masks, and they're still yet to arrive, despite promises from management day after day that they would,' the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Local 705 said.
The union also criticized the company for supplying a $100 bonus only to workers who were not absent, meaning those who are out sick or in quarantine do not qualify.
Mullens argued that the masks should arrive at the plant this week and that employees are no longer being asked to take vacation days if they need to quarantine.
He added that social distancing procedures have been added to production lines and temperature checks will begin next week.
'We've been able to implement some social distancing measures in the plant but it's not possible to completely change the way the manufacturing process is configured and still operate and still meet this high level of demand,' Patrick Criteser, President and CEO of Tillamook County Creamery Association, told Good Morning America.
'Some of the jobs, they are literally elbow to elbow. Some ways they stand a little bit apart but most of the ways they're side by side right, the way down the line,' one meatpacking inspector warned.
So far meat processing plants have been hit the hardest with ten states reporting an outbreak among employees.
Reduced meat output from the shutdowns threatens to tighten supplies of certain products at a time when demand is rising at grocery stores as the United States battles COVID-19.
Food producers say that there should be no long-term food shortages but there may be spot shortages in items such as fresh meat.
Patrick Criteser, President and CEO of Tillamook County Creamery Association, told Good Morning America that it is not possible to implement all social distancing guidelines in the food processing plant line and still keep operating and meeting demand from stores
This meatpacking inspector identified only as Kevin said that some parts of the food processing line require people to be side by side making social distancing impossible
Lockdowns that aim to stop the spread of the coronavirus have also prevented farmers across the globe from delivering food products to consumers.
Millions of laborers also cannot get to the fields for harvesting and planting, and there are too few truckers to keep goods moving.
Grocery store workers are also showing massive numbers of infection as they continue to work through the crowds of shoppers.
There are at least 3,000 grocery store workers showing symptoms and more than two dozen have died from the virus.
'The 95 percent of them, and higher, believe they are going to catch the virus because of what is happening in those stores because people aren't doing social distancing,' warned Marc Perone, International President of the United Food Commercial Workers International Union.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, there is no evidence of food or food packaging being associated with the transmission of coronavirus.
Scientists also say that temperatures above 135 Fahrenheit quickly kill coronavirus, meaning any meat cooked according to instructions should be free of the pathogen.
Fears grow for food supply as Tyson halts operations, processing plants become coronavirus hotspots | Daily Mail Online
