Sector Snap: Pork Producers Dip On Swine Flu Fears

MICHELLE CHAPMAN

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors sent shares of U.S. pork producers sharply lower Monday following a swine flu outbreak, ignoring reassurances by some of the biggest companies in the sector that their meat is safe.

The swine flu is suspected to have killed more than 100 people in Mexico and sickened 1,600, with the virus spreading to countries such as the U.S., Canada and Spain.

Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat producer, said Monday that its pork products are safe and it does not have pork processing operations or hog farms in Mexico.

The Springdale, Ark.-based company, which has pork processing plants in Iowa, Nebraska and Indiana and owns a subsidiary involved in live hog production, said it is taking steps to "tighten our existing biosecurity protocols to protect our hogs from this virus."

Smithfield Foods Inc. had said Sunday that its herd has no clinical signs or symptoms of swine flu. Hormel Foods Corp. had no immediate comment on Monday.

Shares of all three fell, with Smithfield sliding $1.24, or 12 percent, to $9.08. Tyson Foods dropped 68 cents, or 6.2 percent, to $10.25 and Hormel shed 88 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $29.75. Fears about the disease also sent the broader U.S. stock market lower, as investors worried it could squash economic recovery in areas that depend on travel and tourism.