JBS Australia accused of asking Covid-19 positive staff to return to work

https://www.businessnewsaus.com.au/articles/jbs-australia-accused-of-asking-covid-19-positive-staff-to-return-to-work.html

• JBS Australia has been accused of allegedly asking staff that tested positive for Covid-19 to return to work at a plant in Brooklyn, Melbourne.
  • The meat processor has also been accused of breaching other virus restrictions.
• The United Workers Union has serious concerns over the company’s handling of safety during the pandemic.
  • Reports of overcrowding in the locker rooms.
  • Little regard for social distancing.
  • The use of faulty electronic thermometers.
• JBS Australia has tested workers onsite in Brooklyn, however UWU has concerns regarding the management’s commitment to safety.
• UWU has criticized JBS for not supporting their affected workers with paid pandemic leave, leaving those employees in a tough financial situation.

KFC to test 3D-printed chicken nuggets this fall

https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2020/07/23/kfc-to-test-3d-printed-chicken-this-fall.html

• Last year, KFC introduced plant-based chicken nuggets. They have stepped up their food innovation by launching the development of innovative 3D Bioprinting Solutions research labs based in Moscow, Russia.
• The goal with this research lab is to create the world’s first laboratory-produced chicken nuggets using chicken cells and plant material.
• KFC stated that this product is being created because of a growing popularity of a healthy lifestyle and nutrition. They feel the need to develop more environmentally friendly methods of food production.
• KFC plans to have a final product ready for testing this fall in Moscow. It will first be available to people in Russia, and one day the company hopes to serve it around the world.

Cattle on feed report

https://www.nationalbeefwire.com/cattle-on-feed

• Placements: 1.8 million hd., up 2 percent from 2019.
• Marketings: 1.97 million hd., up 1 percent from 2019
• Cattle on feed as of July 1^st: 11.4 million hd., down 42,000 hd. compared to 2019.
  • This is the second highest July 1^st inventory since the series began in 1996.

Boxed beef prices and estimated weekly meat production

www.nationalbeefwire.com

• Choice boxed beef: $201.77 (-0.49)
• Select boxed beef: $190.63 (-0.16)
• Weekly beef production: 537.3 million pounds, down 0.2 percent from last week, up 2.2 percent from last year.
• Weekly cattle slaughter: 646,000 hd., down 0.6 percent from last week, down 0.9 percent from last year.
• Weekly red meat production: 1.09 billion pounds, up 1.1 percent from last week, up 6.8 percent from last year.
• Live cattle weights: 1,369 lbs., up 3 lbs. from last week, up 40 lbs. from last year.