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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — State meat inspectors and local processors urge people not to panic and hoard meat amid the ongoing pandemic.
“There is plenty of meat out there, we just have to be patient and wait for it to get through the system,” Denise Derrer said.
Derrer is the public information director for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health. Derrer explained that Tyson’s pork processing plant along with Indiana Packers operating again following a temporary shutdown related to COVID-19 will make a significant impact for Hoosiers.
Moody’s Butcher Shop sells local meat and goods from its several locations across the area. They have noticed much more business during the pandemic, especially as shoppers claim they notice less meat on grocery store shelves.
“We have doubled in business, if not more,” Amy Truax, manager of the Zionsville store, said. “It’s been nonstop.”
That is a bittersweet as the business works to meet the demands of returning and new customers. The company processes all meat sold in the stores using two local farms. They do offer custom processing for other farmers, but with demand so high, that option for others is limited.
“All of the local processing plants, state and federally inspected, that take in animals to be processed for local farmers as well as for their own use are filled to capacity, Erik Risman, CEO, remarked.
That information is also confirmed by Derrer. She reports even before the pandemic, smaller processing plants were full as more people wanted to purchase from local farmers.
“I have a neighbor, I can buy a pig from him, but I can’t get a place to take them for processing because they’re booked up, they’re saying the next available date is in 2021,” Derrer said, using an example. “That was already happening before the pandemic.”
Without processing plants to slaughter the animal, the meat will not make it to the market. The state’s board of animal health inspects roughly 120 smaller facilities with 25 or fewer employees. Last year, they reportedly inspected 16.5 million pounds of meat in a full year.
“That’s a lot of meat, but when you compare that to these large processing plants, they are doing that in a very much smaller time period,” Derrer explained.
State inspectors and processing plant employees are working overtime now to meet the demand, all while also adhering to health and safety mandates. Ultimately, they want you to know “your food supply is safe in this pandemic.”
The board of animal health connects consumers to local dairy and meat processors on their website. You can find that information at www.in.gov.
