Plant closures put meat supply issue on the front burner
A meaty issue is arising amid the coronavirus pandemic: Are we heading toward a meat shortage?
Kenneth Sullivan says yes. He is the chief executive officer of Smithfield Foods Inc., which shuttered its massive pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, S.D., indefinitely on Sunday after 300 workers tested positive for COVID-19.
That, and the closures of other meat-processing facilities across the nation, prompted him to say the national meat supply could be “perilously close to the edge. It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running.”
Smithfield is the largest pork producer in the world, and its Sioux Falls operation is responsible for 4 to 5% of U.S. pork products – about 130 million food servings a week. A number of other meat-processing plants have closed down temporarily because of COVID-19 outbreaks or concerns, including at least four in Pennsylvania – three in the eastern part of the state, one in the center.
Processing facilities, increasingly, are being built to mammoth proportions, where tens of thousands of animals can be slaughtered in a day. Closing plants that large have fueled concerns about shortages of beef, poultry and pork.
Eating meat during the pandemic is not a concern, according to the Food and Drug Administration, which says “there is no evidence of food or packaging being associated with transmission of COVID-19.” And while projections of supplies aren’t promising, a small group of meat operators in the region – with a lot at stake – aren’t concerned for now.
“We’re in very good shape,” said Gary Gregg, owner of Eighty Four Packing Co. in Eighty Four, which sells retail, wholesale and deli meats from a retail counter four days a week. “Our supply chain is back on line.”
Eighty Four Packing has a U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected slaughterhouse on its grounds, off Route 136, and produces ham, bacon, hot dogs and sausages. “But,” according to Gregg, “we have outside suppliers because we couldn’t have enough steaks for our customers.”
He said he has heard about local stores running short on meat, which may be a boost for his operation. Gregg said the business is maintaining regular hours, while employees are not. “We’re paying a lot of overtime. Some guys are averaging 70 to 77 hours (a week). It seems like we can’t get help right now … but we were having trouble getting them before this.
“We’ve had very long hours. We’re trying to please everybody.”
Gregg added that there have been no positive cases of COVID-19 among his staff of about a dozen. “If someone has sniffles, we tell them to go home. We don’t want them to bring contamination in.”
About 15 miles to the southeast, manager Mary Pirt said the routine at Fredericktown Butcher Shop “actually has been really good. We’ve gotten new shoppers, new business, all of our (30) employees are healthy.”
She said “business has picked up a little bit because a lot of places don’t have a lot of meat.” The shop, Pirt added, has “pretty good suppliers” who provide a variety of meats, which are cut up and put on display.
Overseeing a shop that operates 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, Pirt said she doesn’t have time to evaluate meat stocks at competing stores. “We’ve been so busy.”
So has Oren Smith, who owns Oak Hill Farm in Avella with his wife, Beth. They run a multi-faceted business centered around Black Angus breeding and sales, but includes selling frozen beef and greenhouse-grown vegetables.
That beef, Oren said, was processed earlier this year at Mays Custom Meat Processing in Chalk Hill, Fayette County. He said the farm’s “frozen beef business has been pretty good, and that might be the result of some shortages in stores.
“I think there will be a supply-chain issue, and we’ll see some spot shortages in stores.”
Giant Eagle is striving to stay on top of quantity concerns in all areas, not just in meat.
Dick Roberts, spokesman for the O’Hara Township-based supermarket chain, said in a statement: “We work with several suppliers within each product category in order to provide our guests with a wide variety of options. We believe that the diversity within our supply chain will help us to offer consistent product availability in our meat department.”