Pork Producers Want Flexibility

O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — The world’s largest pork producer has told a judge in Missouri that it’s working as quickly as it can to comply with federal guidelines that seek to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But Smithfield Foods says it it needs some flexibility in an industry where people typically work side by side. The comments from a lawyer for Smithfield Foods came as a judge weighed whether to issue an injunction requiring a rural Missouri plant to abide by federal guidelines. Meanwhile, testing found 92 coronavirus cases at another Missouri plant, and Tyson Foods announced temporary closure of a beef processing plant in Nebraska for deep cleaning after hundreds of people in surrounding communities tested positive.