GGD: 'Van Rooi Meat staff is also being tested'

Of the 43 vets and assistants who recently worked at Van Rooi Meat in Helmond, 3 people have tested positive for the corona virus. This result is a reason for the GGD to test all employees of the pig slaughterhouse. 

Initially, the GGD did not consider this necessary, because there was no reason to think that the virus would be around Van Rooi Meat in Helmond. However, the test result among the judges sheds a different light on the matter. A spokesperson for the GGD says that additional information will be announced later today (May 25), for example when testing will take place. The test results are normally available within a few days. 

After the corona virus was diagnosed at Vion in Groenlo last week, the GGD decided to also examine other slaughterhouses in our country. The employees of the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) and the Animal Sector Quality Inspection (KDS) switch between the various slaughterhouses, which increases the risk of dispersal. 

Tension is rising
The tension on the Dutch pig market is now dire. It is feared that the supply of pigs will quickly pile up when a second large slaughter location in the Netherlands comes to a standstill. In the United States, outbreaks in abattoirs caused major problems in the meat sector, forcing millions of pigs to be culled.

NVWA . response
Upon request, the NVWA has announced that supervisory activities at Van Rooi Meat in Helmond and other slaughterhouses will continue for the time being, provided that the guidelines of the RIVM are enforced. According to the spokesperson, the fact that the activities at Vion in Groenlo were discontinued had to do with the fact that 'a lot of employees' were infected there. To be precise: 147 of all 657 employees.

If the test results at Van Rooi Meat also show such high contamination numbers, the NVWA employees may also stop working here for the sake of their safety. 

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is editor-in-chief of Boerenbusiness. He also focuses on dairy, pig and meat markets. He also follows (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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