Industry group seeks to shorten two-week shutdown of poultry plant in Nova Scotia

KENTVILLE, N.S. – The head of Chicken Farmers of Nova Scotia is calling on the provincial government to speed up COVID-19 testing and look for options to shorten the two-week shutdown of a poultry processing plant in Berwick, N.S.

Thom Oulton says the closure of the only federal processing plant in the province is a concern for both farmers and consumers.

The province closed Eden Valley Poultry last week following an outbreak of COVID-19 cases among employees.

As of Saturday, six employees had tested positive and were self isolating.

Oulton says while protecting everyone’s health has to be the top priority, the security of the food supply is also important and the shutdown needs to be as short as possible.

He says the industry is looking to processing plants in New Brunswick and Quebec for help during the shutdown.

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