Posted on 04/17/2020 8:05:07 AM PDT by tired&retired
A Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was visited by representatives from its Chinese Communist Party-tied parent company one month before the first COVID-19 case was confirmed at the facility, according to three employees.
After the first illness was confirmed at the plant on March 26, the facility quickly became the epicenter of the state’s outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem wrote in an April 11 letter that 238 plant employees had contracted the virus, accounting for 38 percent of the state’s confirmed cases at the time.
The outbreak has intensified since. More than 518 employees have tested positive for the virus as of April 15, in addition to 126 non-employees who have become infected after coming into contact with a Smithfield employee, according to the South Dakota Department of Health.
Executives from WH Group, Smithfield’s parent company in China, regularly visit the plant, according to two employees. The visit preceding the first confirmed case didn’t include a plant tour and was limited to meetings in a separate building, another employee said. The visit took place roughly a month after President Donald Trump had banned travel from China, where the pandemic originated.
(Excerpt) Read more at amac.us ...
Last year, amid a hog fever outbreak in China, Smithfield shifted production in at least one U.S. plant to accommodate the Chinese market. The company did so with the knowledge that the move could create a shortage in the United States in 2020. Smithfield’s director of raw materials procurement, Arnold Silver, told an industry conference in late 2019 that sales to China could eventually create bacon and ham shortages for U.S. consumers.
WH Group, eh? Does the WH stand for Wuhan?
“Arnold Silver, told an industry conference in late 2019 that sales to China could eventually create bacon and ham shortages for U.S. consumers.”
Lesson learned: There are consequences when a nation outsources is domestic manufacturing and allows foreign corporations to control the food supply.
Sadly, the United States could not fight World War II today.
Only recently learned Smithfield was sold to Chinese. I had bought a small smithfield ham for Easter. Never buying another Smithfield product again. They used to be well known in VA.
Not just a foreign corporation, but a corporation that is owned by the Government of said foreign nation.
Smithfield used to have a very good reputation for the quality of their products. Then, they were acquired by the Chinese in 2013. Even though their products are produced in the US, I have avoided anything with the Smithfield name for quite awhile.
ya, nobody wants to mention that China bought Smithfield several years back.
As someone else posted elsewhere, these visits from CCP officials occurred after flights from China were stopped. How did these visits then happen?
Gov. Noem was on with Laura last night and said the plant would have been open regardless of not having a stay-home order because it is critical food infrastructure.
>>>As someone else posted elsewhere, these visits from CCP officials occurred after flights from China were stopped. How did these visits then happen?
The story doesn’t actually say that the company employees arrived from China. They may have arrived from Smithfield HQ in Virginia.
Also, coronavirus seems to be hitting other plants not owned by Smithfield. Perhaps it has something to do with how meat is processed and working conditions in the plants.
No problem, I'm sure China will be eager to share all the details and information in a fully transparent way, they are handling this so well, at lest that's what the media is telling us.
What did the CCP rep spray in the air or on the workspace while he was there ???
Nice to know. Someone will do well to put all thee Chinese companies and products in an easy to search databank.
Never buying Smithfield again either.
IT’s good that this time the Chinese ownership of the plant is prominently pointed out.
Now they need to point out heavy overseas/non-USA connections of the employees.
There is a relatively new (2005) Turkey processing plant in Huron, SD that has ~1200 employees, mostly of recent foredign extraction. There was a CV outbreak in town a few weeks ago associated with overseas travel to a number of countries. That outbreak was fairly quickly quashed.
Maybe POTUS should shut down travel from China
The hogs may be raised here but I’ve read that the meat is processed in China using Chinese standards. The processed meat is shipped back here and sold as a ‘Raised in the USA’ product.
There had been a crack down on the illegals working in the slaughter houses here and it was cheaper to have the processing done in China. I wonder, do they ship Iive hogs or frozen ones?
The answer is iat the end of the AMAC article :
"The 2013 purchase of Smithfield Foods by WH Group was at the time the largest acquisition of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm.
The purchase made WH Group—known as Shuanghui International at the time—the world’s largest pork producer.
The takeover was approved by the Obama administration." (Emphasis mine)
"The owner of WH Group, Wan Long, holds a seat on the National People’s Congress, the legislature of the CCP.
Wan’s path to dominance in China’s pork market .. according to an account by the state-run news agency Xinhua, cited by The Wall Street Journal.
Li is now the second-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CCP." (Emphasis mine)
My Comments : The Chinese nation had an outbreak of porkvirus last year that took over 1/3 of all newborn pigletts, nationwide (as admitted by the Chinese government).
This is a significant issue as pork products represent the second most popular protein source in Chinese food.
Also, due to the Chinese pork virus, prior to this coronavirus infection of factory workers in South Dakota,
Smithfield had announced that much of the pork product would be shipped to China,
thus causing a pork shortage in the US, and to expect rising pork prices.
I will never buy from Chicom owned companies again. I am willing to pay more for American owned food producers....its safer.
Anything from China is off the buy list.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.