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East Coast poultry giants prepare for Sandy

Meatingplace.com has surveyed the big poultry operations on the east coast to see what they are doing in preparation for Hurricane Sandy. Perdue Farms has shut-down its four processing facilities in the Delmarva area but all other operations including those in North Carolina are not affected by the storm. The company started laying-in feed supplies, extra generators and generator fuel days ago in anticipation of the storm.

Cargill is not running the second shift Monday and the first shift on Tuesday at its Hazelton, Pennsylvania processing plant. The company’s beef processing facility in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania ran Saturday in advance of the storm.

Smithfield Foods says their plants are running but a couple in Virginia started two-hours late on Monday to ensure employee safety.

Tyson Foods says they are taking precautions including topping-off feed bins, checking generators and reducing wastewater levels in treatment areas.

All companies have expressed concerns about being able to transport product especially to the northeast as the storm rolls through and flooding becomes a problem.