September 6, 2020

JBS Australia reopens Brooklyn beef processing plant

JBS Australia has resumed its lamb and beef processing operations at its Brooklyn plant in Victoria state after closing for a certain period in August due to COVID-19 infections among its staff, Beef Central reported.

In a statement issued by JBS on Monday, Aug. 31, as per report, JBS Australia confirmed the reopening of its multi-species beef and lamb processing facilities at Brooklyn after working closely with both the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions to ensure that its workplace is COVID-safe.

"The health and well-being of our employees, and the wider community in which we operate, is of paramount importance to JBS Australia. Management has worked with both DHHS and DJPR, giving us confidence that the processes, procedures, systems and technologies we have in place to manage through the current COVID-19 environment are industry leading", JBS Southern's chief operations officer, Sam McConnell, said.

"We will continue to make sure that the level of precautions we are taking as a business are of the highest standard, allowing JBS Brooklyn to continue to play a vital role in securing Australia's meat supply chain."

The statement said JBS has maintained open lines of communication with the Australian Meat Industry Employees Union, ensuring their support of the processes and procedures implemented.

JBS Southern's operations manager, Sean Naden, said: "We are pleased with the discussions with all stakeholders including DHHS, AMIEU and Worksafe, and have secured their support for our team members, as it is most important to keep Brooklyn operational in a safe manner."

Brooklyn is the largest meat processing facility in Victoria, and JBS stressed how important its operations are for its producer partners as well as both its domestic and export customers.

During the shutdown period, JBS temporarily diverted some livestock in Brooklyn to its Riverina operations in New South Wales to ensure the company could continue to meet its customer requirements.