Peracetic Acid Spill Injures 26 at Pilgrim’s Pride Plant in Minnesota

June 9, 2025

Incident sent more than two dozen workers to the hospital, but all were expected to be released by the end of the day last Friday.

Andy Hanacek

Twenty-six employees of Pilgrim’s Pride’s Cold Spring, Minn., chicken processing plant were sent to the hospital Friday, June 6, after a spill of peracetic acid in the facility around 8 a.m., according to numerous news reports.

By late afternoon Friday, a company spokesperson said that 25 of the employees had been released from the hospital, with the only other employee impacted expected to be discharged by the end of the day.

Local authorities told news outlets that the spill was contained within the building. The spill reportedly occurred “during transport” of the chemical, which is widely used in meat and poultry plants for sanitation purposes.

The plant closed during cleanup and was expected to reopen the following day.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.