COVID-19 Cases Increase In Meat Processing Plants Across Iowa

COVID-19 has turned into a pandemic and has practically disturbed every single industry in the world and the American meat industry is not an exception. Iowa is considered the pork-producing capital of America and the situation is getting worse day by day. The meat industry in Iowa is like any other industry in the world. It can’t afford to be completely closed down as there are farmers raising hogs for the meat supply. If the industry stops working, a lot of them will have to be euthanized which will ultimately cause the price of meat to increase in the future.

The Food Industry is one of the most affected industries in the world since it is something that we just can’t stop. It is essential for survival. Food manufacturers and food processors are facing a dilemma whether to shut down their plants or keep them working since there are lots of cases of coronavirus in the food industry. When we look at Iowa, two-third of the coronavirus cases are related to the food industry and especially the meat processors.

Workers in food processing plants often work in close proximity to each other and even if a single worker gets the virus, chances are the whole food processing or food manufacturing plant will be affected by it. There are a number of steps which are being requested by the food manufacturers and food processors to the government in order to stop the spread of coronavirus in the industry, such as; proper availability of the personal protective equipment, which currently are in shortage and cut down the production to less than full capacity to maintain the required distance between the workers.

Food distributors are interacting with a lot of people, especially with food manufacturers and food processors. If they are provided with proper personal protective equipment, this spread could be slowed down in the industry.

The Iowan meat industry is also facing a shortage of workers and resources due to the virus and they simply can’t afford to shut the industry down as mentioned earlier. There are few steps they can take in order to keep the industry running. Starting with the proper PPE for everyone and secondly with the use of Food ERP. Iowa is full of meat processors and Food ERP is something specifically designed to manage the resources in the food industry. By using Food ERP, the meat processors of IOWA can use the resources and personnel they have in a much more efficient and effective way. They can focus on the super important tasks and can leave the tasks that take too many resources for the outputs they provide.