[full response attached]

3 July 2020

The report states that 2 Sisters Food Group’s chicken processing plant in Anglesey said it would close for a fortnight after local health authorities confirmed there to be 58 cases of coronavirus among staff on site, out of a workforce of 560 people. 

We are a responsible business with people at its core. The health, safety and wellbeing of our colleagues is our absolute priority. When the pandemic first hit the UK, we put measures in place at the Anglesey site in accordance with government guidance on the prevention and control of Covid 19 infection. 

The plant operated successfully and safely for three months without a single Covid-19 case recorded. Unfortunately, despite the best endeavors of all on site to control the introduction and spread of the virus, further action was needed after the first case was reported on May 28th. We therefore took the decision to voluntarily temporarily suspend production for 14 days from June 18th. 

To illustrate how seriously we took this outbreak and underline how our people must always come first, it is worth noting that we were the only food production business in the UK affected by Covid-19 who took the decision to temporarily close a site for a period of 14 days. Many have remained open. 

We have worked throughout in collaboration with Public Health Wales, Anglesey Council, the Health & Safety Executive, the FSA and the Unite union who have all offered great advice, scientific knowledge and support, and we thank them for their help and guidance. 

We have fully supported our colleagues during closure and will continue to do so as the site reopens.