Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 10/20/15


Smithfield Foods sent workers home Monday morning from its Tar Heel, N.C.  pork slaughter and processing plant due to a roofing problem, a spokeswoman told Meatingplace.

“Smithfield Foods is working to fix a problem with the roof at the company’s Tar Heel facility. Our main concern is for the safety of our employees, and all employees have been sent home,” spokeswoman Kathleen Kirkham said in an emailed statement. 

She declined to predict when the plant might reopen.

“The company plans to mitigate the impact of production losses by adding shifts at other plants,” Kirkham said.

The closure comes just a week after the same plant was closed briefly due to an ammonia leak.

Local authorities were called to help evacuate the roughly 2,000 employees from the plant at around 10:00 Monday morning, according to local media reports. One police official was quoted as saying a portion of the ceiling in the plant was sagging.

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