Meat + Poultry - November 2016 - 10

BUSINESS NOTES

TYSON ACQUIRES OWNERSHIP
STAKE IN VEGETARIAN FIRM
Tyson Foods Inc., Springdale, Arkansas, announced Oct.
10 that it had acquired a 5 percent stake in El Segundo,
California-based Beyond Meat, which manufactures plantbased meat substitutes.
Beyond Meat makes meatless alternatives that have the
taste and texture of animal protein. The company makes
alternatives to meatballs, chicken strips and tenders, beef
crumbles and burger patties. The
products are made with soy or
pea protein, and are free of gluten,
dairy, trans fats, cholesterols and
GMO ingredients.
"We're enthusiastic about
this investment, which gives
us exposure to a fast-growing
segment of the protein market,"
said Monica McGurk, executive
vice president of Strategy and
Ethan Brown
New Ventures & Foodservice at
Tyson Foods. "It meets our desire
to offer consumers choices and to consider how we can
serve an ever-growing and diverse global population, while
remaining focused on our core prepared foods and animal
protein businesses."
Beyond Meat will remain an independent privately
held company led by Ethan Brown, CEO and founder. The
additional capital, provided through a fundraising initiative
by Beyond Meat, will provide the plant protein maker
the means to expand its product portfolio and broaden
distribution for its products.

PERDUE FARMS FIRST TO CLAIM
ELIMINATION OF ANTIBIOTICS
Perdue Farms announced the final step in the elimination
of all antibiotics in the company's chicken production
complete with the removal of animal-only antibiotics. This
came after Perdue became the first major poultry provider
to eliminate antibiotics used in human medicine from its
chicken production two years ago.
"Stopping the routine use of human antibiotics was a
big step, and addresses pressing concerns in the medical
community," Chairman Jim Perdue said in a statement.
"But it didn't answer the basic consumer question: was
this chicken raised with antibiotics? 'No Antibiotics Ever'
is the only claim we promote to consumers, because it
answers all their questions with clarity and transparency."
Typically, animal-only antibiotics, also known as
ionophores, get mixed into the feed as a preventative
measure for common intestinal illnesses.
"Through our experience raising no-antibiotics-ever

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chickens for almost a decade and exposure to organic
production, we've learned to prevent diseases without
antibiotics," said Bruce Stewart-Brown, DVM, senior vice
president of food safety, quality and live production. "If
you can raise healthy chickens without routinely using
antibiotics, why rely on them?"
The percentage of Perdue chickens raised with no
antibiotics ever is now 95 percent, up from 67 percent
reported earlier this year.

PREMIUM BRANDS ACQUIRES BELMONT MEATS
Premium Brands Holdings Corp. announced the acquisition
of Ontario-based meat processor Belmont Meats Products
Ltd. for $50 million in a combination of cash and common
shares. Premium Brands is a producer and distributor of
branded specialty foods, while Belmont Meats is a leading
manufacturer of burger patties in Canada.
The transaction will be funded through Premium
Brands' existing bank facilities and is expected to be
immediately accretive to the company's earnings. Belmont
Meats reported annual sales of $120 million.
"We are not only very excited about Belmont's business
and the potential for it to grow under the Premium Brands
umbrella, but also the role it will play in creating value
in several of our other businesses," George Paleologou,
president and CEO of Premium Brands, said in a statement.
Belmont Meats is in the process of introducing some of
its products into the US retail market.

ADVANCEPIERRE PURCHASES
ALLIED SPECIALTY FOODS
AdvancePierre Foods Holdings Inc. has acquired Allied
Specialty Foods, Inc., a manufacturer of raw and cooked
beef and chicken Philly steak products. AdvancePierre
purchased the company from Steven Zoll for $60 million
in cash. AdvancePierre expects the acquisition will be
accretive to its fiscal 2017 earnings, contributing $11
million to $13 million.
Allied's customer base is predominantly in the
foodservice industry. The company, founded in 1956,
operates out of a 20,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in
Vineland, New Jersey, with two cook lines, three raw
slicing lines and one breakaway steak line. In June,
Allied began building a new 70,000-sq.-ft. facility with
seven raw slicing/breakaway lines and four cook lines.
That facility is expected to be completed during the first
quarter of 2017.
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Meat + Poultry - November 2016

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