Foster Farms will close its poultry plant in Livingston, California, after being ordered by the Merced County Department of Public Health (MCDPH to do so.
Foster Farms stated that it will close the main processing plant at the Livingston complex on the evening of September 1 and will not resume operations until the evening of September 7.
The company, in a press release, acknowledged that in recent months, 392 workers at the Livingston plant tested positive for COVID-19, and eight workers died from complications related to COVID 19. Foster Farms stated that those cases came despite the company “having promptly implemented a comprehensive set of employee protective measure that strictly adhere to CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidance.
MCDPH announced on August 27 that it had ordered the facility to suspend operations “until acceptable safety measures are in place.”
The health agency said that representatives from MCDPH and California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (CalOSHA) visited the site on August 3, and recommendations made to Foster Farms during a late June visit were still not fully adopted. Two days after that visit, County Health Officer Dr. Salvador 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.
MCDPH stated in its press release that ordering the plant to be shut down was “the last option available in getting this outbreak under control.
While Foster Farms stated that symptomatic cases of COVID-19 among poultry plant workers were on the decline, it felt that suspending operations was the right thing to do.
“At the Livingston poultry plant, which is the largest component of the complex, symptomatic cases are in decline following a July peak. Recent results from Foster Farms’ testing of 2,500 employees at the Livingston poultry plant indicate a COVID-19 prevalence level of less than 1%. While we are very encouraged by these results, we recognize that they do not fully rule out the possibility of community spread within the facility, which remains classified by the Merced County Health Department as an outbreak. We can never allow for any measure of complacency, which potentially affects the health and welfare of our employees,” the company said.
“Foster Farms very much appreciates the concern of the Merced Public Health department, and their significant efforts to mitigate COVID-19 prevalence. We agree that the best approach to ensuring the future safety of our Livingston plant workers is to begin anew with a clean slate. Foster Farms will close the main Livingston processing plant on Tuesday evening, September 1 and not resume operations until Monday evening, September 7. During this downtime, the company will complete two rounds of deep cleaning and two rounds of COVID-19 testing covering all 1,400 plant employees. The testing program will ensure that all workers first reentering the plant on September 7 will be free of COVID-19. Concurrently, Foster Farms will have completed two rounds of testing for all other major processing and logistical facilities that comprise the Livingston poultry complex. We wish to acknowledge the assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in making available test kits and other material support which will enable Foster Farms to complete testing with the least impact on the food supply. During the period of downtime, cleaning and testing, the Merced Public Health Department will be welcome to observe activities to ensure their proper administration.”
The company further stated that it would cooperate and actively share information with MCDPH.
“COVID-19 is not the product of a company any more than it is the fault of a people, or a community. It is a scourge that companies like Foster Farms and communities like Merced County can work together to defeat. Foster Farms joins our nation in looking forward to a time when we are rid of COVID-19. We look forward to building an ongoing relationship with the Merced Public Health Department to help ensure the health and betterment of the greater community where we live and work,” Foster Farms said in a statement.
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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