Hormel Foods subsidiaries, Rochelle Foods and Alma Foods, have temporarily closed their production facilities, marking a further disruption to US food supply due to Covid-19.
Hormel’s Rochelle plant, which supplies retail and foodservice, is halting production for 14 days after being issued with a notice of closure by the local health department.
Alma Foods announced on Saturday that it will pause operations at its facility until 4 May, after an employee tested positive for the virus. The Alma facility, which produces a line of fully-cooked meals and entrees for foodservice, says that ‘additional team members’ had contact with the infected individual outside of the plant.
“The health and wellbeing of our team members is our top priority,” said Shane Weers, plant manager for Alma Foods.
“Our team of production professionals has been doing an outstanding job as they have been doing their part to help provide food during this difficult time. I am so proud of them and I know we will all look forward to being back together on 4 May.
“In the meantime, we continue to strategically manage our supply chain and I am confident we will continue to meet the needs of our customers during this time.”
Commenting on the closure of the Rochelle Foods facility, plant manager Bill Rice said: “Unfortunately, the outbreak has had an effect on our ability to fully operate. We have been part of the fabric of this community for decades, so this news is incredibly disappointing to our great team of people.”
The coronavirus pandemic has precipitated a raft of plant closures across the US food sector. The meat industry has been particularly badly affected with major processors including Smithfield Foods, Cargill and Tyson all closing facilities, or reducing production, after employees fell ill.
Another major impact of Covid-19 on food processors is the drop in demand from the foodservice sector. Earlier this month, Kraft Heinz announced that it had ‘significantly’ reduced production at three plants providing restaurant supplies, while boosting output for packaged goods.
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