Due to the high number of COVID-19 cases among workers at the Foster Farms poultry plant in Livingston California, the Merced County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) ordered Foster Farms to close the facility until it is deemed safe to reopen.
According to MCDPH, as of August 27, eight employees at the plant have died of health complications related to COVID-19, and 358 employees have tested positive. However, the department also stated that the people who tested positive chose to be tested and voluntarily reported their test results to Foster Farms, so the actual number of Foster Farms’ Livingston plant employees is unknown.
“In view of increasing deaths and uncontrolled COVID-19 cases, the decision was made to order the Livingston plant within the Foster Farms Livingston complex closed until acceptable safety measures are in place,” Dr. Salvador Sandoval, Merced County public health officer said in a press release. “Our charge is to protect the public’s health, even in the face of difficult decisions. The closure of the plant is the only way to get the outbreak at Foster Farms swiftly under control. Our hearts are with the eight families who have lost a loved one.”
Foster Farms has not commented on the situation, but according to a Los Angeles Times report, Livingston employees received emails that instructed them to show up for work if they were scheduled to be on the job on August 27 or August 28.
Earlier communication between MCDPH and Foster Farms
MCDPH, in its press release, said that officials from the agency provided a courtesy walk-through of the facility on June 29 and provided recommendations to control the outbreak such as making changes to the employee break spaces and perform widespread testing of plant employees.
However, the MCDPH said that by the end of July, less than 10% of the workers in the plant’s department with the largest impact within the facility were tested. The agency further stated that more than 25 percent of the employees screened in that department tested positive, but expanded testing within that department was not completed until 3 weeks later.
MCDPH and the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (CalOSHA) visited the site on August 3, and MCDPH said recommendations made to Foster Farms during its late June visit were still not fully adopted. Two days after that visit, Sandoval issued directives to Foster Farms, providing specific directions on testing requirements and other safety measures to control the spread of COVID-19 within the Livingston plant. Those directives included that immediate COVID-19 testing be done on all permanent, volunteer and temporary employees who share air within a facility that has an outbreak.
But in the MCDPH press release issued on August 27, the agency said, “testing as required by the health directive had not been completed and it is unclear whether the temporary workers were including in testing.”
‘Last available option’
The California Attorney General’s Office has worked with MCDPH and Foster Farms to limit the impact of the closure, but the involved parties could not reach an agreement. Temporarily shutting down the plant was “the last option available in getting this outbreak under control,” MCDPH stated.
“If we’re going to keep food on our tables during this pandemic, we must do a better job of protecting the essential workers who are putting it there. That means standing up for the people in our poultry facilities, agricultural fields, meat processing plants, restaurants, grocery stores and more,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. “Foster Farms’ poultry operation in Livingston, California, has experienced an alarming spread of COVID-19 among its workers. Nobody can ign0ore the facts; It’s time to hit the reset button on Foster Farms’ Livingston plant.
Foster Farms, according to WATT PoultryUSA Top Companies rankings, is the 10th largest broiler company and 13th largest turkey company in the United States
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