| Caribbean Chicken In Talks to Re-Open |
| Thu, August 27, 2020 |
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On Monday's newscast, we told you how the Caribbean Chicken processing
plant in Blue Creek Village in the Orange Walk district was forced to
shut down for sanitation. That's after Natalio Wicab, one of their
employees from San Felipe Village, passed away due to COVID-19. A few
days later, Wicab's sister passed away, also a victim of the
coronavirus.
It's a pair of losses that are beyond devastating for that family, and
it has also forced the temporary closure of Caribbean Chicken.
Today, Agriculture Minister Hulse publicly announced negotiations
between the management and the health authorities are underway to try
and safely re-open it for business in the near future.
Hon. Godwin Hulse - Ministry of Agriculture
"Caribbean Chicken was temporarily closed. We all know that because there
was, sadly, somebody infected, and I think somebody associated with them
passed. They are a HACCP-approved facility. What does that mean? It means
that they adhere to the high standards of sanitary and phytosanitary
requirements, as certified by BAHA, and it's a lengthy process to become
HACCP-approved. Of course, HACCP did not include COVID because nobody knew
of COVID. So, they have had to institute additional measures to deal with
COVID. The company has jumped into action to do that. [It] has been in
communication with the Ministry of Health to get the Ministry of Health to
sign off on those additional precautions and measures that they are taking
so that this plant can be reopened very shortly. It's a significant part of
our poultry contribution to the nation. So, has Quality Poultry. This
afternoon after this press conference, I am meeting again virtually with
them and the Ministry of Health to finalize those agreements. We've done it
for sugar. We're now doing it for meat, poultry, and all the other
processing facilities because they must, perforce, remain open and
continue. We cannot just shut a facility. While the health of our people
comes first because without that there is nothing, we absolutely need to
ensure that those plants remain open, and we can continue to operate."
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