FOSTER FARMS

California poultry producer Foster Farms said Friday its grain inventories have been restored after the federal government ordered Union Pacific Railroad to step up its shipments.

Federal regulators said Union Pacific railroad must improve its service so that California livestock can receive its grain in a timely manner.

Federal regulators have ordered Union Pacific railroad to make sure a livestock producer gets the grain it needs in California to prevent millions of chickens and hundreds of thousands of cattle from starving.

Federal regulators have ordered Union Pacific railroad to make sure a livestock producer gets the grain it needs in California to prevent millions of chickens and hundreds of thousands of cattle from starving. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board told the railroad it must improve service to Foster Farms to keep it from running out of feed for livestock it raises. It's is the second time in the past year regulators issued an emergency order related to delivery problems at Foster Farms, which is based in Livingston, California, as the railroad struggled with a shortage of crews.

Foster Farms has recalled 148,000 pounds of fully cooked frozen chicken breast patties due to possible foreign matter contamination.

About 148,000 pounds of Foster Farms chicken patties were shipped to the retailer's distribution centers in five states.

About 148,000 pounds of Foster Farms chicken patties were shipped to retailer's distribution centers in five states.

Three workers at Foster Farms' Cherry Avenue plant in Fresno and nine at its Livingston plant in Merced County have now died of COVID-19. Foster Farms says it implemented a "comprehensive testing program across all of its California facilities" in mid-August, starting with its primary facility in Livingston. A truck enters the Foster Farms processing plant in Livingston, California, October 10, 2013. A judge granted a temporary restraining order sought by a labor union against Foster Farms. The company told CBS News in the autumn that "employee health and welfare has always been Foster Farms' highest priority."

A chicken processing plant in central California that saw a deadly coronavirus outbreak must provide its workers with masks and follow a raft of other anti-COVID-19 health orders, a court ruled Wednesday. Another outbreak two weeks ago at another processing plant in Fresno forced that plant to shut down for a deep cleaning, although it later reopened. The restraining order, which lasts until a January 29 court hearing, requires the Livingston plant to supply face masks to workers and make sure they wear masks or face shields where social distancing isn't possible. The company is also installing special filters in shared areas at its processing plants. Its positivity rate among workers is far below the rate for Merced County as a whole, the company said.