JBS resumes processing chickens at COVID-19-affected plant in Brazil
JBS SA has resumed operations at its Passo Fundo plant.
22 May 2020
3 minute read
By: Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA said on 21 May that operations at its plant in Passo Fundo, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, were allowed to resume after the facility was closed by authorities due to an outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Reuters reports that slaughtering resumed on Wednesday 20 May. The plant that has the capacity to process 320,000 birds per day, the company said in a statement. It had been closed since 24 April.
The company said it has "promoted a rigorous screening process to certify that only employees in good health returned to work."
The company's protocol does not involve testing of employees for the COVID-19 respiratory illness, a spokeswoman said.
At that facility alone, JBS employs more than 2,600 people, in addition to 600 integrated producers, the statement said. The Passo Fundo unit has operated for more than 35 years in the region, JBS said.
