Los Angeles County public health officials, in a move that could indicate tighter enforcement of the coronavirus reporting rules, ordered the closure this week of three food distribution facilities that they say did not report outbreaks that More than 140 employees became ill.
The action highlights new compliance measures from the Department of Public Health, announced last week, including fines and company closings as an increase in infections intensifies across the county.
The companies selected this week are S&S Foods in Azusa, with 58 confirmed cases; Golden State Foods Corp. in Industry with 43 cases; and Mission Foods Corp. in Commerce, with 40 cases, according to the county Department of Public Health.
“They have major outbreaks among their employees,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of the health department, during a press conference Monday. “We were not notified, as we must be notified once they had their three cases, and our inspectors have asked them to make some modifications to really improve their infection control protocols at all three sites.”
Golden State Foods was allowed to open Monday night after meeting county requirements. Mission Foods has submitted the required information to the Health Department, which was reviewing it Tuesday night. S&S Foods remains closed.
Representatives for S&S Foods and Mission Foods did not respond to requests for comment.
The greatest application occurs when the pandemic escalates throughout Los Angeles County. At least 246 companies, restaurants, universities, and government offices in Los Angeles County have seen three or more confirmed cases of COVID-19 among their employees since the outbreak began. As of Tuesday, 3,119 employees at these sites had confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the health department.
This includes major outbreaks at LA Apparel, where more than 384 workers have been sickened at three sites in Florence, and at the Farmer John plant, a division of Smithfield Foods that produces Dodger Dogs and other pork products, where 220 workers in Vernon have been confirmed to have COVID-19.
The companies cited for the shutdown did not follow a rule requiring them to notify the county of three or more infections among workers, but some companies have complained that they were unaware of the rule, which has been in effect since at least 11 of June. Outbreaks from the three facilities were reported through the anonymous hotline of the public health department.
In late August, the county Department of Public Health will begin issuing non-conforming businesses with fines ranging from $ 100 for the first offense to $ 500 for additional offenses, and a 30-day permit suspension after various offenses.
Supervisor Hilda Solís, whose first district includes all three companies, urged companies across the county to comply with the new rules.
“Essential workers keep our economy on the move, our shelves stocked with food, our hospitals clean, and continue to do honorable work,” Solís said in a statement. “I urge employers to review the guidance of the Department of Public Health so that they can fulfill their duty to their workers to keep them safe and healthy.”
Brian Dick, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Golden State Foods, said the company was unaware of the county’s requirement that outbreaks of three or more cases be reported until county public health officials do an inspection of plant routine on Friday. After the company complied with specific reporting requirements, county public health officials lifted the order that the plant had closed.
The 450 workers at the facility, who prepare sauces, dressings, syrups, condiments, and toppings for major fast-food restaurants, including McDonald’s, must wear protective masks, monitor their temperature, and answer a questionnaire about any possible contact they’ve had. with the virus before entering, among other precautions. Factory workers are not required to be within six feet of each other, and many of them operate robots rather than working side by side, Dick said.
He said the company does not believe the outbreak necessarily has anything to do with how the facility is managed because there were no case groups among people working closely. The cases spread between people with different jobs, Dick said.
Employees are on sick leave and are encouraged to pay time off to notify the company if they have been in contact with someone with the virus, he said.
“Golden State Foods is not the type of company that would think less of anyone staying home because they are sick, because there is a family member who has been sick, or just as a precaution,” said Dick.
There were no deaths among the 43 people who tested positive for the virus, he said.
S&S Foods, which produces meat and other food products for large-scale food service companies, recalled 153,630 pounds of frozen ground beef after an E. coli outbreak in 2008.
The company’s parent company, CTI Foods, says it specializes in “custom processing of value-added protein products,” including ingredients for meat and pizza tacos.
Mission Foods is a leading distributor of tortillas, potato chips, and sauces sold in supermarkets.
Times staff writers Colleen Shalby and Soumya Karlamangla contributed to this report.
