Global food and agriculture company Cargill has reportedly closed its meat plant in Pennsylvania, US, due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

According to Reuters, the company has not specified when it will be reopening the facility that supplies products to the grocery stores.

Located in Hazleton, the site produces a wide range of food products, including ground beef, steaks, beef roasts and pork products, which are distributed to retail outlets across the country.

In a statement, Cargill said: “Our goal is to keep our 900 employees at this case-ready protein facility healthy and minimise risk within the Hazleton community, which has been greatly impacted by Covid-19. Our facility will reopen as soon as is it is safe to do so.”

The closure of the meat plant is expected to disrupt the food supply to the grocery stores, where the demand for food products has increased significantly due to the outbreak.

Cargill is the latest meat processing company after JBS USA to shut its facility due to the Covid-19.

Earlier this week, Tyson Foods has temporarily suspended operations at its pork plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, US, as more than two dozen employees working at the facility are said to have been affected by Covid-19.

Tyson Foods noted that the decision to suspend operations at the facility was taken out of an ‘abundance of caution’.

To ensure the safety of its employees amid the Covid-19 crisis, the company is working with the federal agencies to underline the need for personal protective equipment.

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