More Problems At A Food Factory

[Barsel]

I think someone posted a while ago about people being tested positive for Covid - 19 a while ago, and now another factory is in the news today. What do you think can be happening here? https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8469607/Hunt-300-workers-Covid-outbreak-food-factory-supplies-Tesco-Sainsburys-Asda.html#comments

[Barsel]

Sorry this news maybe a few days old, just noticed this report from 3 days ago. Apologies if someone has already posted this.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-53194358

[Gromit]

// What do you think can be happening here? //

The article tells you.

In April 300 people left because the safety measures were so poor. Of those that stayed, 166 have now got Covid.
So that is proof that the plant was/is unsafe.
That the people who left made the right decision.
And no one is really bothered until Tesco and Asda products, and therefore our shopping might be contaminated.
If any people have died, the plant should be sued for not providing a safe working environment.

[teacake44]

Flesh is flesh, whether it be animal or human so the virus will survive on either, in saying that there has always been viruses on any kind of meat, when cooked, any virus will die, the problem you have here is the handling of the raw meat, and what people do with their hands after handling such,. robust hand washing and robust cleaning of the factory every day and throughout the day can be the only way forward,. But do the people that clean the factory everyday bother to be so intensive, or even get paid enough to care?

[ichkeria]

The issue with meat plants is not, as far as I am aware, the meat but the working conditions.
Viruses don’t infect dead meat. I mean how many times must we say this.
The risk comes from it being pick up from any surface that can’t kill it and where it can survive long enough.

[Barsel]

Although the articles say which supermarkets they supply, I can't see anywhere that says what they supply them with. If the virus is on the packaging that then goes to our supermarkets, how can we be sure that it's safe for us to buy that product?

[ichkeria]

I’d have thought the chances of the virus remaining in the packaging that long, assuming no one had bothered to take cleaning precautions, were pretty much zero

[Barsel]

ichkeria you say that virus's can't infect dead meat, but I don't remember reading about other types of factories having so many workers who are testing positive.

[bednobs]

"If the virus is on the packaging that then goes to our supermarkets, how can we be sure that it's safe for us to buy that product? "
you can't, but you could say the same about any product from anywhere

[bednobs]

"I don't remember reading about other types of factories having so many workers who are testing positive"
I guess it wouldn't be all that newsworthy if it were a factory making aircraft parts.

[ichkeria]

I don’t know, but if you think about it, it would have to be the case that the workers were being affected by the animals. Which would have to be living at the time. But even if that was the case, they would be dead when they left the plant.
Hopefully this link works
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/06/27/health/meat-processing-plants-coronavirus-intl/index.html

[teacake44]

10.42 Salmonella infects cattle and humans, and that's just one. They don't know enough about covid? but to have out breaks in raw meat factories in different parts of the world, then that in its self has got to set alarm bells ringing. Also the packaged meat is transported in fridges / containers across the world, if the virus is on the packaging it will survive for longer in cold conditions, that's why hand cleaning is important at all times.

[Gromit]

Meat processing factories are labour intensive, with a lot of workers in a relatively small area. The virus is not passed by handling the same bit of meat, it is passed on by breathing the same air, and touching the same door handles, machinery and toilet facilities.
The meat will be frozen, so germs will not be on the packaging.
Obviously workers dying is bad publicity for Tesco and Asda, hence the media interest.

[teacake44]

The meat is frozen? we are talking fresh meat, and frozen meat would still carry it.

[Barsel]

ichkeria thanks for the link, I will have a read of it later.Have to go as I'm expecting my daughter and our new baby who I've only had a glimpse of up to now. Thanks for all your replies.

[ichkeria]

Salmonella, for example, is bacteria, which are self sufficient living organisms that can survive on living and non living matter.
Viruses are only able to survive by attacking living cells that allow them to replicate.

[andres]

There are lots of bacteria that live on in the raw meat once the animal is dead. Along with the often poor sanitation and cleanliness of some of the work places and lack of personal hygiene etc.is it any wonder that diseases are often passed on.

[vulcan42]

There was an expert on the radio the other day explaining the problems of these factories. It is labour intensive and the people have to work side by side. Because they're dealing with fresh meat the conditions have to have to be kept at a low temperature and the virus thrives under these conditions. The low temperature is maintained by air conditioning fans that circulate the "filtered" air around. He also said that it is usually a noisy environment and often the masks are removed to aid conversation. Add it all together and it's no surprise that this is happening.

[dannyk13]

I don't think there is much danger to customers :-
//
Under most circumstances, the amount of infectious virus on any contaminated surfaces is likely to have decreased significantly by 24 hours, and even more so by 48 hours.//

[teacake44]

11.15 I think the point a lot are missing here, is this virus and a lot of others love the cold, that's how they keep them alive in labs in a lot of cases. The other point is that there are many other factories were people work close together, also in a controlled cold environment, we are not seeing at the moment the same problems in those factories, ( only in raw meat situations). Lets be honest here, if some ones bank balance is going to take a hit, then they want to keep it quiet, if the economy is going to take a hit, the government want to keep it quiet.
The media tell us what the government and the business owner don't want to. The whole reason this virus has, and is getting further out of control is because of cover ups and lies from the very beginning. At the moment no one can see any way out of this problem, but to pretend that we can resume to normal by ignoring alarm bells will result in the virus making great progress.
You have Trump ignoring the problem and the idiot in Brazil, hoping it will go away, ( its exploding in both countries) Brazil exports tons of cattle meat? You now have people hungry to take that holiday, so even if the UK manage to reduce the infection/ death rate here, you will have idiots bringing it back her from abroad. Humans are crazy at times, that's why the virus will carry on winning.

[ichkeria]

All that worry cannot be good for you