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Smithfield Foods Statement Regarding Gillis v. Murphy-Brown Verdict

SMITHFIELD, Va., December 13, 2018—While we recognize that the outcome of this trial
was far more favorable for our subsidiary Murphy-Brown and our industry than the three
previous trials, we continue to believe these lawsuits are an abuse of our legal system and
an attack on agriculture. We will continue to vigorously defend them.

In this trial, which involved Murphy-Brown’s Sholar Farm in Sampson County, North Carolina,
the jury awarded six of the eight plaintiffs only nominal compensatory awards totaling
$2,400. More significantly, the Court denied, as a matter of law, plaintiffs’ claim for punitive
damages. We continue to believe the punitive damages awards in earlier trials were a clear
misapplication of the law.

In the meantime, we have filed post-trial motions asking the Court to vacate the judgments
in the prior trials. As soon as those motions are decided, our appeals of those earlier results
will progress. During those trials, the real case about the plaintiffs and their properties was
buried in an avalanche of distraction and manipulation. Our attorneys are confident we will
prevail on appeal.

—Statement by Keira Lombardo, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Smithfield
Foods, Inc.

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Contact:
Keira Lombardo
Smithfield Foods, Inc.
(757) 365-3050
klombardo@smithfield.com

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