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Meat Industry Ireland (MII) has said that all its members are prioritising the wellbeing of staff at all sites in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic protocol guidelines.
Last week, the Department of Health revealed that 10 clusters of COVID-19 had been found in meat plants.
MII, the representative body for the meat factories, acknowledged that clusters had been identified and those sites were fully engaged with the HSE.
“Any incident of a positive COVID-19 case has immediate follow-up with the HSE at local level,” MII has stated.
“At national level, Meat Industry Ireland is engaged with DAFM and in turn the HSE, to explore what further actions or measures are recommended by the authorities.“
MII also added that every processing site has a COVID-19 response team and that it is committed to implementing any further measures deemed necessary to protect staff.
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, an employee at the Moy Park poultry plant has died after contracting COVID-19.
The HSENI told the Irish Farmers Journal that discussions were ongoing with the employer to understand the circumstances.
It added that unannounced inspections of plants are being carried out across NI, with priority given to food processing companies where repeated complaints had been received.
“We can confirm that a recent unannounced inspection was carried out at a Moy Park meat processing plant,” the HSENI stated.
“A few minor issues were found but the overall compliance with the PHA COVID-19 guidance was found to be of a high standard. This approach will continue.”
The workers’ union in NI, Unite, is calling for the temporary closure of Moy Park while all staff and their family are tested for the virus.
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