Olymel Invests Over $30 Million in St-Damase Poultry Processing Plant 

Olymel management announced an investment of more than $31.5 million to expand its poultry slaughtering and cutting plant in St-Damase, Montérégie, in order to diversify operations and add new activities. This project will result in the creation of more than 80 new jobs and bring the total number of employees at this facility to nearly 500, spread over two shifts. This major investment is aimed in particular at equipping the plant with additional cutting, deboning and tray packing lines, as well as new high-capacity, state-of-the-art equipment. The work, which is expected to last about a year, will take place without interrupting the plant's current operations and had begun...

Maple Leaf Foods Provides Update on COVID-19 at Brandon Plant

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is continuing its rigorous safety efforts at its Brandon, Manitoba, plant to prevent workplace transmission amidst the recent COVID-19 cluster occurring in the community. The plant continues to operate safely, and Public Health experts have said on numerous occasions that there is no evidence of workplace transmission occurring at the plant.

The Company is extending its efforts to reduce spread of COVID-19 within the community by reinforcing the importance of precautions such as social distancing and by making 500,000 free masks available to community members.

Operationally, Maple Leaf Foods has temporarily suspended pork exports to China on a voluntary basis due to recent protocols adopted by...

4 of the Biggest Takeaways From the CDC's Report on Smithfield Foods' Sioux Falls Plant

Earlier this month Smithfield Foods closed their pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after hundreds of employees tested positive for the coronavirus. With a number of fishing seasons set to begin in the next few weeks, including salmon in Alaska and snow crab in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, we’re looking at what seafood processing facilities can learn from the CDC’s latest recommendation for Smithfield Foods.

The Smithfield Foods plant in South Dakota employs about 3,700 people. Smithfield initially kept..

Tyson Foods to Indefinitely Suspend Waterloo Operations

Tyson Fresh Meats, the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods, Inc., plans to indefinitely suspend operations at its Waterloo, Iowa, pork plant this week.

The facility, the company’s largest pork plant, has been running at reduced levels of production due to worker absenteeism, and will stop production mid-week until further notice. The facility’s 2,800 team members will be invited to come to the plant later this week for COVID-19 testing.

“Protecting our team members is our top priority and the reason we’ve implemented numerous safety measures during this challenging and unprecedented time,” said Steve Stouffer, group president of Tyson Fresh Meats. “Despite our continued efforts to keep our people safe while...

Tyson Fresh Meats to Resume Limited Operations at Columbus Junction Pork Plant

Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods, Inc., will resume limited operations at its pork plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, on Tuesday after being idle for two weeks due to COVID-19 concerns.

“Our first priority is protecting our team members while they fulfill their critical mission of feeding families across the country during this challenging time,” said Tyson Foods President Dean Banks. “We plan to increase production at Columbus Junction gradually, with the safety of our team members top of mind.”

Tyson Foods formed a coronavirus task force in January and has implemented numerous measures to protect workers. It was one of the first food companies to start taking worker temperatures and...

Perdue Farms Confirms Positive Case of COVID-19 at Georgia Production Facility 

Perdue Farms learned that an Associate at the Perry, Georgia Cook Plant, who has not been to work for more than a week, has tested positive for COVID-19. Perdue is unable to disclose additional details around this individual in accordance with privacy laws. Upon receiving this notification, the company immediately enacted its pandemic response protocols, which follow strict guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including:

• Notifying and coordinating response procedures with all pertinent parties (local health officials, onsite USDA inspector, Perdue HR and Wellness Staff, Coronavirus Response Leader, and facility Director of Operations...