WASHINGTON — President Trump has used the Defense Production Act to ensure a reliable supply of products like beef, pork, and poultry. Trump signed an Executive Order providing authority to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure meat and poultry processors continue operations uninterrupted to the maximum extent possible.
To ensure worker safety, these processors will continue to follow the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Unfortunately, a number of America’s large meat processors and their workers have already been affected by outbreaks of coronavirus (COVID-19). In addition, recent actions in some states have led to the complete closure of large processing facilities.
Closure of meat and poultry processing plants in recent weeks quickly created an outsized impact on the nation’s food supply chain, the White House said in a media release Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue thanked Trump for the action and said, “Maintaining the health and safety of these heroic employees in order to ensure that these critical facilities can continue operating is paramount. I also want to thank the companies who are doing their best to keep their workforce safe as well as keeping our food supply sustained. USDA will continue to work with its partners across the federal government to ensure employee safety to maintain this essential industry.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the Department of Labor have put out guidance for plants to implement to help ensure employee safety to reopen plants or to continue to operate those still open.
Under the Executive Order and the authority of the Defense Production Act, USDA will work with meat processing to affirm they will operate in accordance with the CDC and OSHA guidance.
USDA will continue to work with the CDC, OSHA, FDA, and state and local officials to ensure that facilities implementing this guidance to keep employees safe can continue operating.
