Meat plants shutting down

[amaysngrace]

Some meat plant in South Dakota is closing until further notice because they have nearly 300 employees infected and get this, they’re donating the meat to food banks!  

Does anyone else see that as being a bad idea or is it just me?

[Ellener]

5 hours ago, Redhead14 said:

sanitize your shoes before bringing them in

I've ordered some disposable overshoes from wal-mart really for 'just in case' situations when the lockdown ends.

 

1 hour ago, amaysngrace said:

Some meat plant in South Dakota is closing until further notice because they have nearly 300 employees infected and get this, they’re donating the meat to food banks!  

Does anyone else see that as being a bad idea or is it just me?

People are lined up for food at some of the food banks until they get their money through, so it's a balance of priorities. But meat should be fine, it's eaten cooked. Cook it well if worried.

[amaysngrace]

12 minutes ago, Ellener said:

But meat should be fine, it's eaten cooked. Cook it well if worried.

who cooks cold cuts?

Edited April 13, 2020 by amaysngrace

[Ellener]

1 hour ago, amaysngrace said:

who cooks cold cuts?

Smithfield products are hams/slices of hams/Canadian bacon ( at least they are where I live ) They have to be cooked or reheated first to be safe anyway.

[amaysngrace]

I guess as long as people getting them practice safe food handling there won’t be an issue.

Food banks won’t cross contaminate or anything.  They’re the epitome of sanitary. 

I feel much better now. lol

[Ellener]

1 hour ago, amaysngrace said:

Food banks won’t cross contaminate or anything.  They’re the epitome of sanitary. 

I'm going to volunteer there when everything calms down. 

[amaysngrace]

I’ve already volunteered there Ellener.  They’re not the most hygienic. 

[introverted1]

Eating meat is what got us into this mess in the first place.  This isn't the first and surely won't be the last zoonotic virus pandemic.

[stillafool]

On 4/13/2020 at 3:37 PM, amaysngrace said:

Some meat plant in South Dakota is closing until further notice because they have nearly 300 employees infected and get this, they’re donating the meat to food banks!  

Does anyone else see that as being a bad idea or is it just me?

Yeah it's Smithfield isn't it?  They are donating pork.  Not good.

[amaysngrace]

3 minutes ago, stillafool said:

Yeah it's Smithfield isn't it?  They are donating pork.  Not good.

Yes.  Ten million pounds, enough for 40 million meals. 

It’s noble but ew.

I hope they can track that like they track spring break phones then get back to us on what they find. 

Edited April 15, 2020 by amaysngrace

[stillafool]

I hope they cook it slow and for a long time before serving it.

[Fletch Lives]

It's not going to live very long in meat. Plus, it's probably cooked. It needs a human host. I think some people are going off the deep end.

[amaysngrace]

5 minutes ago, Fletch Lives said:

It's not going to live very long in meat. 

You know that how?

 

[Fletch Lives]

Cause it needs a human host to survive more than a couple days.

[amaysngrace]

17 minutes ago, Fletch Lives said:

Cause it needs a human host to survive more than a couple days.

Again, where are you getting that information?  The CDC reported that the live virus was found on a cruise ship that had been empty for 17 days. 

[Fletch Lives]

How is a cruise ship empty for 17 days? No workers on the boat, no staff? It was a ghost ship? And was the virus really live or dead? 

Even then, you are talking about a cruise ship which is one of the top spreading devices.

Even if that were the case, handle the meat safely,  cook it before eating. Meat is very safe if handled safely and cooked. The virus can't survive cooking.

By the way, if it gets in your mouth, the virus won't hurt you or your stomach if you wash it down with fluid so it does not get near your lungs. 

I believe in being very cautious, I was wearing gloves anytime I left the house since March first. But I think people should be reasonable about it. 

Furthermore, I don't think they closed the plant because the meat was bad. The workers were sick. When people are sick, you send them home - and everybody was sick, so you have to shut down for a few weeks.

I'm sorry, I just don't see any problem donating meat even if the meat factory personnel were sick. Let's not go off the deep end.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Fletch Lives

[Redhead14]

20 minutes ago, amaysngrace said:

Again, where are you getting that information?  The CDC reported that the live virus was found on a cruise ship that had been empty for 17 days. 

Here's one source that talks about how long it lives without a host.  https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-03-17/how-viruses-work-explainer/12059904

[amaysngrace]

3 minutes ago, Fletch Lives said:

How is a cruise ship empty for 17 days? No workers on the boat, no staff? It was a ghost ship? And was the virus really live or dead? 

Look it up for yourself if you have questions.  Point is I gave a source of information where you did not.  

You’re only saying things you think you know as fact and I’m telling you you’re wrong based on evidential findings. 

It doesn’t really matter if it’s cooked or not since there’s this thing called cross contamination meaning all it will take is one cook handling raw meat by knife, gloves, bare hands, surfaces or otherwise then touching some bread or salad which won’t be cooked before eaten.  

 

[Fletch Lives]

8 minutes ago, amaysngrace said:

It doesn’t really matter if it’s cooked or not since there’s this thing called cross contamination meaning all it will take is one cook handling raw meat by knife, gloves, bare hands, surfaces or otherwise then touching some bread or salad which won’t be cooked before eaten.

 - That sounds like a resturant situation, and many are closed. If you are really seriously worried, you should make your own food. 

No I'm not a doctor, but this is just a virus and the patterns are well known.I'd take that meat, I don't see a problem with it. Anything else you bring into the house is could be contaminated, the same as meat. Just handle with care.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Fletch Lives

[serial muse]

1 hour ago, amaysngrace said:

Again, where are you getting that information?  The CDC reported that the live virus was found on a cruise ship that had been empty for 17 days. 

FWIW, CDC didn't actually report that, and the FB post that shared that misleading info has been updated to reflect the error. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/mar/26/facebook-posts/theres-no-evidence-covid-19-can-survive-surfaces-1/

Traces of the virus were found, but not live virus.

Data show the virus can survive on surfaces for several days at most, and that's on metal and plastic (it apparently survives for less time on other surfaces). The risk is not zero of contracting the virus from plastic packaging on the meat but it's not actually that high.

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by serial muse

[carhill]

On 4/13/2020 at 12:37 PM, amaysngrace said:

Some meat plant in South Dakota is closing until further notice because they have nearly 300 employees infected and get this, they’re donating the meat to food banks!  

Does anyone else see that as being a bad idea or is it just me?

Yeah, that's Smithfield, a Chicom owned company, their VA plant has been shipping carcasses to China for awhile now, it was reported in the media last November. Chicoms bought it a few years ago. I looked at a video on Smithfield's channel on YouTube from ten years ago and in it one can see all the PPE they wear and sanitizing regs they follow and it was stated they shipped 120 million pounds of bacon that year from that plant alone. They process all kinds of pork products for consumer and commercial use.

One marked issue has been just that, many processing plants are geared to commercial use, meaning hospitals, schools, restaurants, hotels, airlines, etc. They can't easily switch over to making consumer (read 'grocery') items and in some states it's illegal to sell such products to consumers if packaged for commercial use. With 'eat out' effectively closed and 'eat in' ordered during the shutdown, that's why grocery stores were out of many food items. Things switched essentially overnight.

[SumGuy]

3 hours ago, amaysngrace said:

Yes.  Ten million pounds, enough for 40 million meals. 

It’s noble but ew.

I hope they can track that like they track spring break phones then get back to us on what they find. 

I doubt it is is purely noble, certain they will take this as a tax deduction for years to come.  There will be any if little financial loss I suspect, especially if they can get some of the 2 trillion.  What would be noble?  Giving the sick workers extra and paid sick leave, although that may be required now.  

Food products can generally be tracked very, very well.  All the information need to track them is required by law I believe look at any packaging and you will see it, usually by where they print the expiration date.  That's how they readily pull products for food borne illness and contamination.  Of course that is all administered by a government agency and if that agency doesn't have the staff or funding to do so or ensure companies follow the law all bets are off.  A law without teeth is no law at all, especially when dealing with corporations who have more lawyers than most people have eggs in their fridge.

[preraph]

I don't know why they wouldn't just sell it.  But I guess they want to get out of there pronto is all.  Most of these packing plants that are having this coronavirus problem are not closing for very long, just long enough to sanitize and test employees, I'm reading from 3 days to 2 weeks.  

[Art_Critic]

The covid-19 is a respiratory virus, meaning it has to enter the body from the lungs.

Entering the body from food would subject the virus to stomach acid and it will not live.

While this isn't a scientific article there are tons out there..

Can you catch COVID-19 from food?

https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-food-risk.html
 

Quote

 

Chapman stressed that there's a lot we don't know about COVID-19 and the virus that causes it, SARS-CoV-2. Our understanding about the spread of the disease, and the risk food poses, could change as more information becomes available.

But as far as we know, the disease appears to be spread mainly from person-to-person through virus particles that are spread when someone coughs or sneezes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While COVID-19 can theoretically be transmitted by touching a contaminated surface and then touching your nose, mouth or eyes, that's not thought to be its primary mode of transmission, according to the CDC. 

Coronavirus science and news

—Coronavirus in the US: Map & cases
—What are the symptoms?
—How deadly is the new coronavirus?
—How long does virus last on surfaces?
—Is there a cure for COVID-19?
—How does it compare with seasonal flu?
—How does the coronavirus spread?
—Can people spread the coronavirus after they recover?

Why food is low risk 

There are also several factors that could make transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through food less likely, even if the virus is present on food or a food worker catches it.

First, the food safety measures that are already in place to prevent foodborne illness — such as frequent hand-washing, cleaning of surfaces and utensils, and cooking food to the right temperature — would also reduce the transmission of any virus particles through food.

"One of the benefits we have in the food world is we're already thinking of those things a lot —  we're constantly trying to stay away from transmission of foodborne pathogens in normal, regular times," Chapman told Live Science.

Another factor is the biology of the virus. It cannot survive for weeks at a time on surfaces —  a characteristic of other foodborne viruses such as norovirus, according to the Centers for Science in the Public Interest. (Preliminary studies have found the new coronavirus may last a few hours to a few days on certain surfaces.) And unlike bacteria, viruses cannot grow inside food, so the amount of virus in the food would be expected to dwindle with time, rather than grow.

Also, in theory, this type of virus should not survive well in the stomach, which is very acidic. "That's good news around food,"  Chapman said. 

Still, the extent to which people can become infected by touching their mouths, or eating contaminated food, is unclear.

"It's not that it's not possible" for people to become infected with COVID-19 through food, Chapman said."There's always this possibility. But I want to make the best risk management decision based on the best science and evidence, and we just don't have any evidence in that area" right now, Chapman said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ellener]

4 hours ago, amaysngrace said:

there’s this thing called cross contamination meaning all it will take is one cook handling raw meat by knife, gloves, bare hands, surfaces or otherwise then touching some bread or salad which won’t be cooked before eaten.  

and you're more likely to get food poisoning if you do that- surely everyone knows that?

Although one of the big lessons here is that people had to be told not to sneeze on each other and to wash their hands regularly....who knew