Smithfield Foods pork sales fall amid H1N1 flu virus scare

Smithfield Foods Inc., pork producer based in Virginia, has seen some deterioration in sales since the outbreak of the influenza A/H1N1 virus, the company's top executive said on Tuesday (May 5).

Smithfield president and chief executive officer C. Larry Pope said that the biggest concern is the economic impact of people shying away from eating their product out of fear.

Pope said retail and export sales have been hurt, though he believes public fears are easing now.

The Smithfield-based company has been on a media campaign to reassure the public that pork is safe to eat since the outbreak of the so-called "swine flu" which Pope said is an inaccurate name because the virus is passed from human to human.

Public health authorities from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) to the World Health Organisation (WHO) have said there is no danger of contracting the flu virus from eating pork.