COVID-19 Causes US Meat Plant Facility to Close; Food Stores May Not Have Meat If Trend Goes On

One of America's biggest pork processing facilities has shut its doors indefinitely after employees started falling ill with the novel coronavirus -- and the company's CEO has warned that the U.S. meat supply is now under serious threat, the Daily Beast website reports today (April 13, 2020).

The facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota accounts for around 5 percent of the country's pork production and employs about 3,700 people, according to Smithfield, which runs the plant.

""The closure of this facility, combined with a growing list of other protein plants that have shuttered across our industry, is pushing our country perilously close to the edge in terms of our meat supply," said Chief Executive Kenneth Sullivan.

He added, "It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running."