China has suspended imports from an OK Foods plant in Fort Smith, Ark. The company stated in a letter to customer that the suspension came after “erroneous reporting” from the Arkansas Department of Health,” reports the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
The company said in a letter to customers that the department drew data incorrectly from three Arkansas processing plants, which inflated the number of positive Coronavirus cases among employees. The company says that the error has been fixed, and the company is trying to restart its exports to China again. The company had 60 confirmed cases at the plant, and not the 234 cases that had been reported by the Health Department.
"We appreciate Gov. Hutchinson and his staff, the Department of Health, the Poultry Federation and the Arkansas Department of Agriculture for their efforts to quickly correct the data," OK Foods President and Chief Executive Officer Trent Goins said in the letter. "Together, we are working on a strategy to relist the company and resume exporting to China."
