Move FM Global News

WASHINGTON D.C.: In a letter sent to leading meatpacking companies, the Biden administration has said companies must monitor their suppliers and contractors for evidence of the use of child labor.

Officials have said that several agencies, led by the Department of Labor, aim to end illegal child labor employed in various industries.

The department said that since 2018, illegal child labor rose 69 percent in the US, and in February it discovered that more than 100 children had been illegally employed by Packers Sanitation Services, a contractor for meat-packers that provide workers to clean slaughterhouses. The company was fined $1.5 million.

Meat and poultry companies must determine whether their suppliers use illegal child labor, and adopt stronger child labor standards for subcontractors, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in the letter.

“Companies in food manufacturing, particularly those with significant market power, need to be vigilant about the standards of their suppliers to help reduce systemic violations and abuses,” he added.

The letter was sent to 18 companies, including Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods, JBS USA, and Perdue Farms, which account for some 70 percent of US meat and poultry production.

The Department of Agriculture said it is assessing enforcement mechanisms for stronger oversight against the use of child labor in food supply chains and plans to take additional steps.