Astral Foods says it has been targeted by a social media smear campaign, and that a report of a government-ordered plant shutdown is false.
The largest poultry company in Africa, in a press release issued on March 31, described the report, depicted as a “television news-type screenshot,” that has been circulated via WhatsApp messaging and social media platforms, that states some Astral Foods employees have tested positive for COVID-19, and that the South African health minister has ordered an Astral Foods plant to shut down.
“No Astral employee has tested positive for the coronavirus COVID-19, and Astral condemns this fake news in the strongest possible terms. The company would like to assure all its stakeholders, including shareholders, consumers, customers, suppliers and employees that this false news story is completely unfounded,” the company stated in its press release.
Astral Foods assures the public its poultry products are safe to eat. The South African poultry company said it is following stringent hygiene protocols, and has implemented multiple measures to ensure the health and well-being of its staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly at a time when Astral Foods and other agrifood companies are being called upon to ensure an uninterrupted food supply.
“We strongly caution against creating and spreading fake news such as this, which causes unnecessary alarm, and in terms of the government regulations surrounding the national state of disaster, constitutes a criminal offense,” Astral Foods CEO Chris Schutte said in the release.
“It is extremely unfortunate that at this time, when the whole of Astral and the poultry supply value chain are working under extremely difficult circumstances to rise to the president’s call to maintain the supply of food to all consumers, that some irresponsible person(s) has found it necessary to undermine these efforts by concocting this fake story.”
Astral Foods, according to the Poultry International Top Companies survey, slaughters 272 million broilers annually.
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