The meat industry contingency plan that helps with the pandemic
Michael Gore is the managing director at FEBEV and in a time of pandemic crisis he was the man who took the initiative to draw up a contingency plan, to be used as a guideline to cope with the effects of an outbreak as effectively as possible in and/or during an epidemic or pandemic.
When the virus had entered Europe, company executives immediately realised how serious the situation was and were determined to prevent the virus from affecting their company. It is worth remembering that the pig industry was in the throes of ASF around the same time. A real nightmare for the meat industry, in other words. While many people’s hearts would sink at the thought, Michael Gore is quite proud that Belgian meat companies took it in their stride and rose to the occasion.
The risks associated with the outbreak of an infectious disease are certainly not new. Manpower is a foremost concern. When a lot of employees fall sick, the continuity of business activities is compromised. Taking into account the fact that the meat industry relies on a complex network of human interactions, ranging from livestock farmers and road hauliers to meat companies, it goes without saying that the outbreak of an infectious disease can quickly lead to a significant reduction in manpower.
From the outset, the roadmap provided a framework in which basic guidelines were combined, with an emphasis on containing the outbreak and implementing precautionary measures. As challenges presented themselves, the roadmap was adapted and companies actively participated in the process, along with their customers and suppliers. The initiative got a lot of support, because it was industry-driven and the objective was very clear from the outset: to guarantee the continuity of business activities. During the first wave, the fact that the government was working towards the same purpose proved a great advantage, paving the way for valuable interaction between the industry and the government, in particular with the FASFC. This type of collaboration is typical of the Belgian approach and it undoubtedly proved key in managing the risks.
But the meat industry also learned from others during this crisis. In the summer of 2020, Belgian neighbouring countries were hit by serious outbreaks, which even led to the temporary closure of production sites and export restrictions to countries such as China. Other countries wondered by Belgian companies had been spared from such outbreaks. They soon concluded that this was largely due to the rapid start that the Belgian meat industry had taken.
Like many other industries, the meat industry will not return to the situation before 13 March 2020, when pandemic started in Belgium. Instead the efforts made towards improving hygiene and food safety have set a new standard, which will serve as the norm from now on. Under the “new normal”, Belgian meat producers will continue to take these additional guarantees on board when serving customers. Ultimately customers thus also stand to benefit.
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