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USA Today reports that foodborne illness investigations have slowed, and food recalls have plummeted to their lowest levels in years because of the coronavirus. The pandemic stopped communications of federal agencies tasked with stopping contaminated food before it leaves farms and factories to the state health departments that test sick residents for foodborne illnesses like E. coli. The number of FDA inspections dropped from an average of more than 900 a month to just eight in April. Along with that, the FDA citations issued for unsafe conditions dropped from hundreds a month to nearly zero in April. Weekly reports from the FDA show the number of recalls dropping from 173 in February to 105 in March to 70 in April. The USDA numbers dropped from an average of more than ten a month to an unprecedented zero in March and just two in April. Through May 7, the CDC has solved two outbreaks by the same time last year; there had been recalls of products across five different outbreaks, which sickened more than 300. Many experts said they believe the drop-off in detecting foodborne illnesses may be caused by Americans choosing to stay home rather than seek treatment and testing for stomach problems. @ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/05/11/food-inspections-citations-and-recalls-slashed-amid-coronavirus/3065141001/

A lawsuit of wrongful death was brought against JBS SA, the world’s biggest meat company by the family of an employee that died from coronavirus. JBS, based in Sao Paulo, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit. In a statement earlier this week, the U.S. unit said it was “doing everything possible to provide a safe working environment for our team members.”This might be the beginning of a lawsuit wave against meat companies after thousands of U.S. workers contracted the virus. At least 27 meatpacking workers have died in the coronavirus pandemic, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. In another lawsuit a Texas state court against Dallas-based Quality Sausage Co. earlier this week. Smithfield Foods Inc. was sued last month by employees at a rural Missouri pork-processing facility. They argued that the company hadn’t done enough to protect workers from the virus. U.S. District Judge David Gregory Kays on Tuesday declined to hear the case, saying it’s up to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, not the courts, to oversee safeguards for workers. The pandemic emphasized worker conditions at slaughterhouses, where cold, damp factories and crowded workstations make infectious diseases particularly hard to control. @ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-07/world-s-top-meat-company-sued-for-wrongful-death-in-philadelphia?sref=pqQBM94V&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202020-05-11%20Daily%20Dive%20%5Bissue:27269%5D&utm_term=Food%20Dive

On April 30, the Madison County Health Department learned that a couple of greenhouse workers, who have lived in close quarters in hotels for months, had coronavirus-type symptoms. After extensive testing of employees, 125 employees of Green Empire Farms, Oneida, N.Y., (out of a total of 300 employees) have been confirmed with coronavirus, prompting NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo and health officials to reinforce the need for social distancing and other measures. Employees that are tested positive are quarantined. No deaths have been reported among the company’s employees. Green Empire Farms has conducted daily temperature checks, and health screenings enforced mandatory face coverings on-site and provided face shields and resources to clean those shields. Cleaning and sanitation increased, and several social distancing measures began then as well. @ https://www.thepacker.com/article/central-new-york-greenhouse-becomes-coronavirus-hotspot?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWmpJMk56a3dNMkV5WVRaayIsInQiOiJBVE5QRDF4aXZIYTZmVnU5R2VVSDl0Y0NRU2JVeUcxbHljOHFOMDN5UURIZmx2REVoSW14NnYxVGFDNGliWDhIcGVTMEI3WlRLMGJqNmFqbm9PeERzeFdPWEJxXC9OSnpVdjFCbEtWRFEzRGNtNEs5WDVFK3lkTlhTYzdGck4rUHYifQ%3D%3D

With more than 800 employees getting infected by the coronavirus, the Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls was closed for three weeks. The executive order issued by President Trump requires meatpacking plants across the country to reopen their plants in fear of a food supply shortage during the pandemic. To prevent further spreading of the coronavirus, changes have been made to the facility. The changes made the facility compliant with the new regulations issued by CDC, USDA, and OSHA.  @ https://amp.argusleader.com/amp/3090458001