As meat plants close, at least 100 USDA inspectors test positive for coronavirus
Meat processing plants across the U.S. are closing shop as workers fall ill with the coronavirus, and now the Department of Agriculture has revealed that 100 of its own meat inspectors have tested positive for COVID-19.
At least 100 of 6,500 USDA inspectors have been infected with the coronavirus, according to Bloomberg. They work for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) division of the agency, according to the outlet. One inspector died from the coronavirus back in March after visiting meat-processing plants, according to Politico.
The USDA has been criticized for asking inspectors to provide their own protective gear, according to Politico. Additionally, critics say the agency is loosening regulations on inspections, EcoWatch, an environmental news agency, reported.
“I would give them an ‘F’,” Paula Schelling, acting president of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 45, a union that represents USDA inspectors, told Politico. She and other union leaders told the USDA “it wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when this would all blow up in these food plants. There is no protective equipment, there is no social distancing. Now we are at the when.”
While the USDA says it is recommending safety practices based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unions say companies are implementing those safeguards inconsistently, Politico reported. Unions have asked the USDA to implement uniform guidelines for companies to follow, according to Politico.
Inspectors weren’t allowed to wear masks until earlier this month, several inspectors said, because “it would create fear in the workplace,” according to Government Executive, a media group covering government business. But that guidance contradicts FSIS’s formal health and safety guidelines, which allows inspectors to voluntarily wear masks if they get approval and training from management.
FSIS reportedly told its employees during a teleconference town hall earlier this month that anyone who was exposed to the virus but has not shown symptoms should keep working, Government Executive reported. FSIS confirmed with employees that they should wear gloves and a face mask until they start feeling sick, according to the outlet.
As plants have closed in multiple states, inspectors have been shifted from one to another, creating concern that infected workers could bring coronavirus with them to their new stations, according to Government Executive.
“A traveling inspector bringing in the disease is our biggest worry,” Mike Callicrate, a rancher, processor and advocate in Kansas, told Bloomberg.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 5:12 PM with the headline "As meat plants close, at least 100 USDA inspectors test positive for coronavirus."