How meat leaders prioritized worker safety during COVID-19

The meat processing and retail industries faced numerous challenges in 2020 but worker safety took precedence during the pandemic, four top meat leaders said during a roundtable discussion at the 2021 Annual Meat Conference.

The panel was comprised of top industry professions from both retail and meat processing and featured:

• Nicholas Bertram, President, The GIANT Company
• Susan Morris, Executive Vice President and COO, Albertsons Company
• Jon Nash, Corporate Senior Vice President, Cargill Protein and Salt
• David McDonald, President and COO, OSI Group

COVID-19 challenges

The pandemic sent shock waves throughout the entire meat supply chain. Numerous processing facilities had to temporarily halt operations after outbreaks in workers occurred and dealt with staffing shortages or increased absenteeism from employees afraid of getting sick.

Meanwhile, on the retail side, suppliers had to figure out how to find product to fill empty shelves as consumers flocked to stores in preparation for self-quarantine and/or social distancing measures. Multiple poultry companies, including Sanderson Farms and Perdue Farms, pivoted from foodservice to retail processing to meet the shifting demand.

“The profession of grocery has always been a noble one and very important to communities, but the level of listening that took place as COVID-19 came onto the scene changed everything,” Bertram said. “One thing I saw, not just at GIANT, but everywhere was that the safety of our teammates was a priority. That was an important message to send out to consumers and also to our teams, of course.”

Safety measures put in place

Processing facilities implemented several measures to keep workers safe, including walk-through temperature scanners and workstation dividers to social distance monitors and always-on testing. Workers were also given personal protective equipment, like gloves and masks to protect against the virus.

“One of the things that I’m also really proud of that’s maybe underreported is our focus on the psychological safety of our teams,” explained Nash. “Our people were experiencing so much outside the workplace – let alone all of the pressures inside of the workplace which were enormous. They were also experiencing issues with schools and daycares and making sure that their families had food on the table.”

Many poultry processing and retail companies also expanded benefits during the pandemic, offering free testing, extended sick leave policies, flexibility to take care of family members and paying high-risk employees to stay at home. More recently, companies have incentivized COVID-19 vaccinations or offered options for on-site access to vaccines.

To protect against complacency and pandemic fatigue, “we sent home kits made up of sanitizers, wipes and things of that nature so that people could have them in their cars or homes,” explained McDonald, noting that the company focused on items that were difficult to find in stores at the time. 

“Those small efforts served as visible reminders that ‘I need to take care of myself and I need to take care of our family.’”

View our continuing coverage of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

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