Question: What will be done with the contaminated meats?

[In_The_Wind]

Smithfield and Tyson both have closed processing plants due to the number of workers testing positive for COVID-19.

IMHO: The meats (pork and chicken) should not be sold to the public.

[underpants]

1. FUN FACT

The Smithfield plant in Tar Heel NC processes 30,000 pigs each and every day.

[In_The_Wind]

3. How are they preventing Covid spread in the NC processing plant?

[underpants]

5. They already have a positive test there.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2474131

[In_The_Wind]

8. I'm glad I picked up a little extra food over the past 2 months.

[zackymilly]

44. Chittlins are still cheap.

[In_The_Wind]

49. My dog loves 'em.

[zackymilly]

50. What? How dare you!

[In_The_Wind]

52. Hahaha

He only gets the best.
I share my fried pork rind with him and with my parrot.

[lame54]

80. Not too fun for the pigs

[Aristus]

2. I'm sure it will all have to be destroyed somehow.

I would think meat processors would have a protocol in place for just such an occurrence.

[In_The_Wind]

4. I hope so! It can't be processed into animal feed.

We know the Tigers and handler in the Bronx Zoo tested positive for COVID-19.

[leftieNanner]

19. I want to know

How they got that tiger to sit still while they stuck the swab up his nose.

[In_The_Wind]

24. Excellent question.

Perhaps they anesthetized the big cats first.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. The meat is NOT contaminated. That is NOT how it is spread. Wipe package, cook the meat.

Do not stuff raw meat into your nose or inhale raw meat through your mouth.

Duh.

[Aristus]

9. Really? Something ELSE I have to give up now?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Yeah. You need to stop inhaling raw meat. :eyes: . . . nt

[Aristus]

13. It never hurt before...

[madinmaryland]

88. Dude! That sucks. I'm addicted to snorting meat! Especially bacon!

[In_The_Wind]

18. I enjoyed snacking on raw beef.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

22. That was stupid before and remains stupid for the same reasons as before. . . . nt

[LuckyCharms]

60. +1

[Marrah_Goodman]

10. this

[In_The_Wind]

12. I'm not so sure I believe the meat is safe.

If it isn't already in my freezer I'm not cooking fresh meats.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

14. Why not?

[In_The_Wind]

15. Because the wet market in China may have been the start of this spread.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

20. Stop your nonsense! LIVE animals EXHALE. Purchasers breath in. THINK! Don't create false FEAR! . .nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

27. Don't buy live bats at a wet market. Duh. Stop posting shit, please.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

29. People congregating, not food.

[Marrah_Goodman]

67. A wet market is a place where they sell live animals and butcher or kill them right there

You should be just fine eating meat.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

17. Study what cooking temperatures does to virus. Ya know, Science. Or may ya dunno or reject. . . . nt

[Lucinda]

42. I don't think freezing matters....don't they freeze viruses? n/t

[In_The_Wind]

51. The meat in my freezer has been there since around Christmas.

I'll eat frozen products that have cooked meat as part of the ingredients.

I'm one of those 'high risk with diabetes'.

I used to love shopping and cooking. Not so much these days.

[Lucinda]

55. I need to stop watching cooking videos

I keep finding things I want to try!

[In_The_Wind]

56. If you have the time and money - go for it.

The worst thing that could happen is you toss out the dishes you don't care for.

[Flaleftist]

32. No worries. I prefer snorting extra crispy bacon

A coffee grinder is a great way to turn it into powder.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

33. Cooked meat is fine to inhale if that turns your crank. . . . nt

[KY_EnviroGuy]

38. I think you have invented a prize-winning new product.

I've always hated snorting bacon bits.......

[zackymilly]

46. Too late. There's already bacon flavored vape juice.

[Dem2]

72. Thanks

I thought this was common sense.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. Viruses don't thrive well on meat or food; they need a living host.

[In_The_Wind]

16. In time the virus will die on food. But how long does that take?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

26. About two seconds after it hits cooking temperature. Use your brains! . . . . nt

[Aristus]

37. Gee, and I thought you Canadians were supposed to be polite.

That ain't no way to treat a lady...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

40. Sometimes reality bites. I don't check sex before replying, nor do I think it matters here. . . nt

[Aristus]

41. Well, it's no way to treat a DU-er of any kind.

n/t

[Bernardo de La Paz]

54. Sorry. I don't "suffer fools gladly". Perhaps a character flaw. I carefully try to avoid calling

I try to avoid calling posters names and instead attack the post or idea or reasoning. I hope I succeeded in this thread too.

In times like these we don't need people ginning up food panics and spreading misinformation (even if it coyly posed as a question).

[renate]

81. thank you for saying something

I'm too nonconfrontational for my own good, plus I didn't want to get called an idiot or told to use my brains or whatever, so I just quietly scrolled by, but you did the right thing. Thank you.

[madinmaryland]

90. Wait what? I thought you were a guy! Of course some people think I am maidinmaryland.

😜

[customerserviceguy]

69. Thank you

for being the voice of reason on this thread. But I do appreciate the humorous replies, too!

[haele]

34. Buy it from a butcher counter.

The virus can last anywhere from a few hours to a day on most surfaces exposed to air, and the butcher typically has his or her meat unwrapped and hanging in chill or layed out on display trays for at least that long before the meat is purchased. And most butchers I have observed are at least gloved and most are wearing masks to protect the meat from contamition by them while handling.
Also, you should always rinse off your meat before handling for cooking -except for pre-grouned meat as that's a bit problematic If the meat has been purchased pre-packaged, wash off the packaging once you bring it home from the store.

Haele

[In_The_Wind]

35. Best answer to my question. Thank you.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

45. Who do you think slaughters, processes and transports it for the butcher?

[zackymilly]

48. His wife?

[zackymilly]

47. I always ask my butcher, 'how's it hangin'?'

[hlthe2b]

21. You don't understand. The issue is the workers who are massively spreading it among each other.

THERE IS ZERO evidence for spread through meat that is destined to be cooked prior to ingestion. ZERO.

I can assure you that this meat is not considered contaminated and is not being destroyed.

If you remain concerned, focus on making sure you wash your hands thoroughly after handling uncooked food and the packaging that contains it and cook thoroughly.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

23. Thank you for injecting reason to counter the foolish panic fear of the OP. . . . nt

[GeorgeGist]

57. BYE

[Blue_true]

63. So that's it, you put someone ignore for telling the truth? Add me. nt

[Miguelito Loveless]

25. Coming soon to a black market near you.

[In_The_Wind]

28. Yup.

[rampartc]

30. cat food

[In_The_Wind]

31. Cats need to be protected. Tigers in the Bronx Zoo have tested positive for COVID-19.

[rampartc]

43. i can state with confidence that the owners of contaminated meat do not care

and will do whatever necessary to maximize their global profits.

[In_The_Wind]

53. That's what I'm afraid will happen.

[shanti]

62. Several of them

aren't even owned by Americans, so why should they care?

[CaptYossarian]

36. Trump, the stable genius businessman, will

try to sell the pork to Middle Eastern countries and the beef to India.

The Art of the Deal.

[In_The_Wind]

39. Good one

[Liberal In Texas]

58. There's nothing wrong with the meat and it can be sold.

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents.

It's the workers that are sick. Just like any bacteria or another virus that gets on meat, cooking kills it. That's one of the reasons we cook it.

[In_The_Wind]

59. Thanks for your 2 cents.

I'll eat it after it's cooked. However, due to my own weakened immune system, I'm not bringing raw meat into my home at this time.

[Blue_true]

65. You have to do what you think is right for you.

But, if you thoroughly wash your hands with warm water and soap up to the mid-forearms, and refrigerate or freeze (better) the unpackaged meat, you should be ok.

I think that this contaminated meat processing plant and all other food processing plant COVID infection issue is going to be with us for a long time, so changing how you clean up after handling ANY item that comes into your home from the outside is a good idea.

[Blue_true]

61. A virus requires a live host to stay alive. The meat is perfectly fine to eat and handle. nt

[In_The_Wind]

71. So, the virus will be dead by the time we bring it home.

[Blue_true]

91. Unless you buy it directly from the slaughterhouse, it will be dead days before

you buy the meat. Things like ground meat has been known to host bacteria, so it is better to buy store ground meat or ground meat that has been frozen. But a virus isn't bacteria, bacteria can survive in non living hosts unless killed by heat or cold.

What I have started doing is wash my hands after handling ALL of my food items since the virus hit the USA. I haven't started rubbing the food packages down with a bleach solution, but given your immune system compromises, you may want to do that, even non meat items like cookie packages and coffee or tea boxes, ect. My guess is that one quarter cup bleach in one cup of water should be more than strong enough to do the job.

[In_The_Wind]

92. I still have a half gallon of bleach. That should last for a while.

I've been washing cans before opening them.

[Blue_true]

93. You know what I found out while struggling to find bleach, toilet paper and paper towels?

The dollar stores are much more likely to have that stuff than local markets like Publix and Walmart, stunning, but true in my experience. So when I need bleach and tp and paper towels, I try the dollar stores near my home.

You have plenty of bleach for sterilizing purposes, it only takes 1/4 cup along with a cup of water. I have found that spray bottles fail if I leave the bleach solution in them, so you may want to put it into a sealable plastic container and pout only what you need onto a cloth or paper towel when cleaning stuff. Wear the kitchen gloves used when washing dishes, if you have that handy, if not constantly rinse your hands as you sterilize stuff, then wash them with hot water and soap when done.

[In_The_Wind]

94. I popped into Family Dollar on my way home from grocery shopping, your right.

I feel sure by the time I run out of paper towels and Charmin the stores should be restocking.

I'll remember all the hints you've shared.

Thank you

[DavidDvorkin]

64. Give 'em to Mikey (Trump)!

He'll eat anything!

[In_The_Wind]

66. He sure looks like it.

[ProfessorGAC]

68. The Virus Denatures At 135F...

...in 2 minutes or less.
The denaturing is a first order chemical reaction. These reaction types double in rate every 10C, or 18F.
So at 153F, one minute.
But we don't cook meat at 153F, even in a smoker.
At 200F, less than the boiling point of water, the denaturation takes 15 seconds.
Now, let's go to a real cooking temperature of 350F.
The reaction rate increase by a factor of 64.
The denaturing time falls to 0.9375 seconds.
The solution is clearly cooking the meat!

[In_The_Wind]

70. I can understand that.

I think I'll wait until I fire up the BBQ grill.

[ProfessorGAC]

74. There's More

Now think of grilling!
450 degrees! That's 315 degrees above denaturation. The reaction increases by nearly 2^18, or around 250,000 fold.
So 120,000 milliseconds divided by 250,000 is 0.48 milliseconds.
Even if you like your meet rare, 0.48 milliseconds isn't long enough to hear the meat sizzle.
By the time you're done cooking, that virus is a glob of molecules!

[In_The_Wind]

75. Even better.

I like my burger very rare.

[Dem2]

73. Good answer

I laugh thinking about this because early on before a lot of steps were taken by take-out places, I had the urge for a Wendy's burger. Once I tossed the packaging and washed up, I took the burger, removed the lettuce and tomato, then put it open face in the oven @ 150F for about 10 minutes. It was dry eating, but I felt safer.

[ProfessorGAC]

76. That's Quite Thorough

If you get the urge again, put a small frying pan of hot water in the oven. It'll shift the vapor/liquid equilibrium so the meat gives up less water.
Will stay moister!

[Dem2]

77. Good idea

It was a toaster oven, but I could get water in there somehow.

[ProfessorGAC]

78. A Ramekin?

Those are little. The lower the volume, the less water you need!
Start with at least hand washing warm, though.
Cold water won't get to a point where it helps in 10 minutes.

[EllieBC]

79. I prefer my chicken and beef cooked.

Maybe try that?

[In_The_Wind]

82. I like my chicken totally done and my beef rare.

[EllieBC]

83. Rare beef would still be fine as that is over 135F, no?

This is all starting to give me a headache. If I am expected to live in a cave eating lentils and rice for 2 years I have zero interest in "existing".

[In_The_Wind]

85. yes

and I find myself wondering if I'll be around this time next year to enjoy my flowers blooming again.

Sorry about your headache.

[Totally Tunsie]

84. Got out to the market today and it was pretty much stripped bare of

any packaged hot dogs, cold cuts, etc. The one area that was untouched...the Smithfield bacon. All other brands were gone.

There's no market for their products as the result of their infection rates anyway. Might as well be closed.

[In_The_Wind]

86. Shopping is a real eyeopener these days.

My order for curbside pickup was so small because supposedly my items were out-of-stock. Not worth a repeat. I wandered inside the store and most of the items I wanted were there waiting to be bought and carried home.

I'll shop closer to home from now on. My local grocery store (Hannaford) provides employees with mask and gloves.

[Totally Tunsie]

87. I hadn't been out for more than 2 weeks, and I was floored by the

low stock throughout the store. Produce gone, frozen items gone, bakery gone, meats sketchy,
eggs gone, pasta and rice gone, bottled juices low, canned items dwindling, and paper products non-existent.

Prices were outrageous. (The coffee creamer I usually buy at $4.29 was $7.29 today.) I usually spend about $100 or less per week, and today's total was $206+, with a lot of substituting for much on my list.

[In_The_Wind]

89. Did you keep the register receipt? The creamer looks like price gouging.

I was charged $7.69 for a 6 pk of 7UP. Other stores are charging $2.54. I'm going to turn the matter over to New York's Attorney General for investigation. The fine for gouging is a biggie.

I usually shop every 2 to 3 weeks. Produce is in stock. Some dairy items were there. Paper products almost nonexistent. Forget about restocking my home with dish soap. I stopped at Family Dollar for Sani-Stix to keep the kitchen drain working.

[Totally Tunsie]

96. At $7.29, I took a hard pass on the creamer.

When I did my initial shutdown stock-up, I bought quite a few boxes of the small individual creamers (restaurant style) in case my dairy supply ran out and, for whatever reason, I couldn't get out of the house. Also bought a number of cans of evaporated milk for the same purpose. If the creamer price doesn't level off, I'll just use my at-home supply and then learn to like it black.

I live on the RI/MA line, literally, (The back property line is the state line.) and grocery shop in MA. Checking the MA laws about price gouging, apparently new emergency legislation has just been put in place. Here's the article:

https://www.mass.gov/news/ag-healey-issues-emergency-regulation-prohibiting-price-gouging-of-critical-goods-and-services

AG Healey Issues Emergency Regulation Prohibiting Price Gouging of Critical Goods and Services During COVID-19 Emergency

[yewberry]

95. There's currently no evidence of food-based transmission.

Good practices should always involve properly-cleaned surfaces (and hands!) and bringing product up to recommended temp.

Side note: cooking will NOT "kill" a virus. Freezing will not "kill" a virus. Viruses are not alive. They can be damaged to the point of being unable to reproduce, but they are not alive. High temperatures can render them non-viable.

This is why hand-washing is so crucial: the virus has a lipid (fatty) exterior. Think "Dawn takes grease out of your way"-- soaps actually degrade the exterior of the virus. You're not just washing the virus off of your hands: extended washing can make the virus non-viable.