Meat&Poultry - May 2012 - 14

Business Notes

Tyson to expand Sedalia poultry plant BK announces Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods Inc. announced the company will policy on add approximately 200 jobs at its poultry plant in Sedalia, Mo., as part of gestation an expansion project that is now underway. The expansion will add up to five deboning lines at the housing
facility and enhance its wastewater treatment system, including the addition of a third lagoon, the company said in a press release. Other improvements will also be made in the poultry slaughter area while investments in equipment and infrastructure are also planned for the older part of the plant, which has been in operation since 1994. As a result of the renovation, approximately 150 people will be hired between November 2012 and March 2013, Tyson officials said. An additional 50 people will likely be required by mid-2014, Tyson reported. ■ Burger King Corp. announced it will only buy pork from suppliers with documented plans to end use of gestation crates for sows and plans to transition the company’s supply chain to 100 percent cage-free eggs by 2017. “For more than a decade, Burger King Corp. has demonstrated a commitment to animal welfare and, through our BK Positive Steps corporate responsi-

USDA delays decision on poultry inspection plan
The US Dept. of Agriculture is delaying a decision on proposed changes to poultry inspections after an ABC World News report cast a critical eye on the plan and raised allegations of attempts by poultry companies to skew foodsafety tests. The report by Jim Avila, who also reported on lean fi nely textured beef, included an interview with a source identified as a poultry inspector, but whose identity was obscured and voice was altered. The anonymous source told ABC News that inspectors aren’t really inspecting birds, rather they are monitoring them. “We joke, we pat them on the butt and let them keep on going,” the source said. The National Chicken Council (NCC) defended the plan, saying the proposed inspection system would better protect consumers from foodborne illnesses. “The proposed inspection system will better protect the public from foodborne illnesses by reducing reliance on old-fashioned visual and sensory inspection and moving to prevention-oriented inspection systems based on actual risk to consumers,” NCC said in a statement. “Studies by the National Academy of Sciences, the General Accounting Office and by USDA have established the need to modernize the poultry inspection program and this proposed rule does that.” Tony Corbo, a lobbyist for Food &Water Watch, also was interviewed for the story and made allegations that poultry plants attempt to skew food-safety tests by adding extra “cleaning agents” to the birds when companies know tests are to be performed. The NCC labeled as “patently false” allegations that poultry plants use “cleaning agents” to skew test results. ■

bility program, we cont inue to leverage our purchasing power to ensure the appropriate and proper treatment of animals by our vendors and suppliers,” said Jonathan Fitzpatrick, chief brand and operations officer, Burger King Corp. “We are proud to announce these new, industry-leading commitments that support meaningful standards of humane treatment in our US supply chain.” Burger K ing, which operates 12,500 restaurants globally, said it was the fi rst major quick-serve restaurant chain to implement animal welfare policies aimed at reducing cage confinement of egg-laying hens. Since 2007, it has incorporated more cagefree eggs and bought gestation stallfree pork into its supply chain. “These Burger King changes will improve life for farm animals and encourage other companies to abide by animal welfare principles,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. ■

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Meat&Poultry - May 2012

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