CP Foods S’pore Stopped Import of Products From a Factory in Thailand Due to COVID-19 Outbreak There

With the COVID-19 situation taking a turn for the worse in Thailand, it’s no surprise that some of our imported goods might be affected.

Charoen Pokphan (CP) Foods Singapore announced on Monday (1 Jun) that it has stopped importing food products from its Saraburi factory in Thailand as employees there were infected with the virus.

Out of 8,500 workers, 245 of them had tested positive on Sunday (30 May) and areas where infected employees worked were shut down with immediate effect.

According to CNA, CP Foods Singapore said that these areas will remain closed for five days.

In addition, efforts have been made to ensure that the factory is cleaned and disinfected in line with health measures to prevent further contamination in the workplace.

“A lab test will be required to confirm that the areas are disease-free,” it said.

Only workers who have tested negative for COVID-19 will be allowed to return to work.

The Saraburi factory is just one of the 19 poultry processing factories that CP Foods Singapore imports its stocks from.

CP Foods Singapore noted that the other 18 factories will remain operational, with safety measures in place. These include workers being required to change uniforms, wearing masks that fully cover their mouths and noses and following social distancing measures.

All of their employees are currently being tested for COVID-19, with those in high-risk groups being “put under state quarantine for 14 days” and those in low-risk groups placing themselves “under self-quarantine for the same period”.

The company has also implemented a “seal and bubble” area in factories for workers who are not infected.

As for food production, they have shifted chicken production to their other plants to prevent disruption to business and customers. They have also conducted regular random testing for the virus on their chicken products and have found no contamination so far.

CP Foods Singapore also assured that the items currently sold in Singapore are safe for consumption and have been cleared by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

The agency, as well as the World Health Organisation (WHO), have highlighted that there is a low likelihood of people contracting the virus from food or food packaging.

“Customers can rest assured that the items that they have bought, and the current products carried by all the retailers, are safe for consumption,” said CP Foods Singapore.

So ah, please don’t be an auntie and go raid NTUC’s frozen food aisle for CP chicken wings. Not with Phase 2 (HA) ending in 2 weeks.

Of course, CP Foods Singapore isn’t the only company that had to resort to closing down its factories in Thailand to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Last Friday, Sri Trang Gloves also closed glove factories in Trang and Surat Thani provinces for three days after dozens of workers tested positive.

Earlier this month, Cal-Comp Electronics Thailand closed a factory in Phetchaburi province for 14 days (which means it only reopens on 3 June) to stem infections among its workers.

Thankfully, these incidents are not in Phuket, which might be reopening to vaccinated tourists in July. For those of us under 39 years of age, better get those vaccination slots booked as soon as we’re able to!

Feature Image: Facebook (CP Brand)