Consumer insights from Datassentials on how consumers feel about the safety of their meat amidst Covid-19, and my thoughts on whether these sentiments are merited. [short thread]
Asked whether slaughterhouse workers with Covid-19 made them nervous about meat safety, >60% of consumers said yes, though about half of those would continue eating it.
But nearly 50% of GenZ & 40% of millennials are eating less meat for this reason.
datassential.com/wp-content/upl…
But nearly 50% of GenZ & 40% of millennials are eating less meat for this reason.
datassential.com/wp-content/upl…
However, this is the wrong framing for asking this food safety question.
The food safety risk to a consumer isn't likely to result from the slaughterhouse worker being ill. It's likely because of this: theguardian.com/environment/20…
The food safety risk to a consumer isn't likely to result from the slaughterhouse worker being ill. It's likely because of this: theguardian.com/environment/20…
"Now it has emerged that as a wave of plants announce closures, US meat plants are being granted permission to increase the speed of their production lines... The move will allow... chicken factories to slaughter as many as 175 birds a minute – the equivalent of 3 per second."
"Under traditional poultry processing rules, line speeds ran at 140 birds a minute, and required at least four inspectors to be stationed on each line, tasked with checking carcasses for defects, disease or contamination... That has since been reduced to one inspector per line."
"'There is no way that food safety is not compromised when the sole trained government inspector on the slaughter line in a chicken plant is expected to examine three birds every second.'"
"The line speed increases come as Guardian data analysis reveals that at least one in 10 US poultry slaughterhouses failed government salmonella tests last year. In some categories, failure rates are as high as 34%."
"Outbreak numbers are rising too. A report by US consumer organisation PIRG found that meat & poultry recalls are up by 65% since 2013... A report by the CDC highlighted the rise in antibiotic-resistant salmonella as a serious threat that requires 'prompt and sustained action'."
This is unacceptable. Compromising food safety is an intolerable and unethical response to the situation of decreased production capacity. Line speeds should be *slowed*, not increased, to allow for social distancing.
What good is cheap chicken if it's unsafe to eat?
What good is cheap chicken if it's unsafe to eat?
