Tyson Fresh Meats and Cass County, Ind., Health Department Issue Joint Statement
April 22 2020 - 6:00PM
Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson
Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), announced today that its Logansport, Ind.,
facility will voluntarily close while its more than 2,200 team
members undergo testing. The company is working closely with the
Cass County Health Department to conduct COVID-19 testing beginning
as early as tomorrow.
The pork processing facility, which produces three million
pounds of pork daily and helps support more than 250 independent
family farmers from across nine states, suspended production for
one day on April 20 for additional deep cleaning and sanitizing.
Since then, the facility has been running at limited production and
is expected to stop production on or before Saturday, April 25.
“While we understand the necessity of keeping our facilities
operational so that we can continue to feed the nation, the safety
of our team members remains our top priority,” said Steve Stouffer,
group president of Tyson Fresh Meats. “Our company is deeply
embedded in our plant communities, including Logansport. We’re
working with the county to make sure our people and the community
are safe. The combination of worker absenteeism, COVID-19 cases and
community concerns has resulted in a collective decision to
close.”
Affected Logansport team members will continue to be compensated
while the plant is closed. Resumption of operations will depend on
a variety of factors, including the outcome of team member testing
for COVID-19. Tyson Fresh Meats is working with the county health
department on plans to re-open as quickly as possible.
“We’re pleased with Tyson’s collaboration to protect our
community,” said Dr. Dori Ditty, health officer of Cass County
Health Department. “Tyson Fresh Meats is an economic anchor for our
community and is critical for the food supply. We want to get the
facility back up and running as safely and quickly as possible,
which is why we’ve both decided to close the facility in order to
test all employees.
“We’re aware that while employees are practicing protective
measures at work, they may not be practicing it at home which is
critical to help stop overall community spread,” Ditty said. “Tyson
has done its part in implementing measures and are now working with
us to test workers. We’re making a clear commitment to do our part
to mitigate the spread within the community by reinforcing CDC
guidelines in our county.”
“Tyson Fresh Meats opened its doors for a group of county and
state officials to tour the facility,” said Cass County
Commissioner, Ryan Browning. “We were impressed with the aggressive
protective measures the company has implemented. We observed social
distancing measures such as installing workstation dividers,
putting barriers on break tables to create distance, and putting
foot door operators so people don’t have to touch doorknobs.
Information is key in helping prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Throughout their facility, flyers were posted in a number of
languages with CDC guidance.”
Tyson Foods has been focused on COVID-19 since January when it
formed a company coronavirus task force. It has since implemented
numerous measures to protect workers. It was one of the first food
companies to start taking worker temperatures and is in the process
of installing more than 150 infrared temperature scanners in its
facilities.
The company started efforts to secure a supply of face coverings
before the CDC recommended them and now requires their use in all
facilities. In an effort to promote social distancing, many company
facilities have installed workstation dividers and are providing
more breakroom space. While Tyson Foods is working with local
officials to protect team members during this ever-changing
situation, the company takes its responsibility seriously to
continue feeding people across the country during this global
health pandemic.
“Closing facilities has serious implications to the national
food supply for American families, local communities, growers and
farmers,” Stouffer said. “When a facility closes, the availability
of protein for consumers across the nation will only decrease.
Consumers will see an impact at the grocery store as production
slows. It also means the loss of a vital market outlet for farmers
and contributes to the disruption of the nation’s pork supply.”
Tyson Foods announced recently its plans to indefinitely suspend
operations at Tyson Fresh Meats’ Waterloo, Iowa, pork plant this
week. The company’s other meat and poultry plants currently
continue to operate, but some are running at reduced levels of
production either due to the planned implementation of additional
worker safety precautions or worker absenteeism. The company has
suspended production for a day at some locations for additional
deep cleaning and sanitization.
About Tyson FoodsTyson Foods, Inc. is one of
the world’s largest food companies and a recognized leader in
protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under three
generations of family leadership, the company has a broad portfolio
of products and brands like Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire
Farm®, Ball Park®, Wright®, Aidells®, ibp® and State
Fair®. Tyson Foods innovates continually to make protein more
sustainable, tailor food for everywhere it’s available and raise
the world’s expectations for how much good food can do.
Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company has 141,000 team
members. Through its Core Values, Tyson Foods strives to operate
with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers,
communities and team members and serve as a steward of the animals,
land and environment entrusted to it.
Visit TYSONFOODS.COM.
About Cass County Health Department
Cass County Health Department is in Logansport, Indiana. It
serves approximately 38,000 residents in the rural community. The
Cass County Health Department works closely with the local
hospital, law enforcement and government to promote health and
safety throughout the community.
Media Contact: HLI YANG, 479-290-2122,
Hli.Yang@tyson.com SERENITY ALTER, 574-727-4173,
serenity.alter@co.cass.in.us
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