Technical Articles

Testing found Listeria on a pallet jack inside the Boar’s Head sausage plant linked to a deadly bacterial outbreak, and employees were improperly allowed to move freely between different product lines, according to federal regulators’ letter suspending the facility. The outbreak caused the company to recall 7 million pounds of products in July and resulted in at least nine deaths and more than 50 hospitalizations. An investigation traced the contamination to a specific production process used for liverwurst at the plant in Jarratt, Virginia. As a result, Boar’s Head last week permanently discontinued its Strassburger Brand liverwurst product and closed the Jarratt plant indefinitely. Whole genome sequencing found the strain on a device described as “pallet jack SH3” to be “highly related” to the Listeria linked to the deadly outbreak, according to a July 31 revised notice of suspension from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to the Jarratt plant manager, who’s name was redacted in a version of the document released by Boar’s Head. Among the “basis for action” listed, the document states: “Pallet Jack SH3 is used to move racks of product out of blast coolers to production lines in the processing room, as well as move product racks around the processing room. The processing room consists of one large open room [with eight processing lines]. … There are no barriers or walls that separate the processing lines. Pallet jacks and product racks move between all processing lines and all blast coolers. This positive Lm result on the pallet jack demonstrates Lm is present in the RTE [ready-to-eat] post lethality processing environment, and there are inadequate controls to prevent its spread throughout the RTE post lethality processing environment.” The letter further noted “a risk of employees spreading Lm through the RTE post lethality processing environment. Although employees typically work on one line, when needed they may move between lines to help. Your establishment does not have a written plan to describe employee practices and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) when moving between lines.” During intensified verification testing of the plant, FSIS’s enforcement investigation and analysis officers “observed employees moving racks out of coolers and between lines without changing PPE, even when interacting with different product types. They also observed employees who freely move between all lines without directly interacting with product such as those removing garbage, removing product debris from the floors, removing condensation from overhead structures, or performing maintenance.” In a statement issued to Meatingplace, an FSIS spokesperson said: “FSIS’ investigation into this outbreak is ongoing. Any death related to foodborne illness is one too many, and we are taking this public health matter very seriously. The agency has suspended inspection at the Boar’s Head facility in Jarratt, Virginia, which means the facility remains closed until and unless we are confident that they can produce safe food. In addition to taking a holistic look at Boar’s Head establishments across the country, our investigation will include a top-to-bottom review to determine contributing factors that led to the outbreak at this particular facility, what needs to be improved, and if there are lessons learned that could be more broadly applied to ready-to-eat meat and poultry facilities.” FSIS further stated to Meatingplace that the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services conducted federal inspections at the Boar’s Head facility under the Talmadge-Aiken (TA) Cooperative Inspection Program, which allows Virginia and eight other state meat and poultry inspection programs to operate in place of FSIS. “FSIS requires inspection during every shift at processing facilities,” the spokesperson said. The agency did not reply to several other questions from Meatingplace including comparative information about the more than 60 violations documented at the Boar’s Head facility in a year’s span, how egregious the violations were, why those did not cause the plant to be suspended earlier, and whether FSIS has enough personnel to sufficiently inspect U.S. processing facilities.

One man died in a truck accident at the Triumph Foods facility in St. Joseph, Mo. on Friday. According to a police statement shared with local news, the incident occurred early Friday when Aaron Ruelas was "accidentally ... backed over by a 'shag truck' belonging to Triumph Foods." The accident occurred within the facility's gated area, and Ruelas was pronounced deceased at the scene. Ruelas was an employee of Edwards Transportation, and was at the facility to pick up a semi-trailer. The driver of the truck showed no signs of intoxication, and was not arrested. In a statement to local media, Triumph Foods stated: "Early this morning, there was a traffic-related incident in our north trailer parking lot that sadly involved a fatality. We are thankful for the local emergency responders who were at the scene; we can confirm the person who died was not a Triumph Foods employee. Out of respect for the privacy of those involved, we are unable to share more information at this time."

Strong demand and lower production costs indicate that the global poultry market is on the upswing in terms of growth, according to a new Rabobank analysis. Following several years of slow growth related to consumption, the poultry market is in a “strong price position against other proteins in most markets” as strong retail demand and recovering demand in foodservice are both supporting rapid growth, Rabobank senior analyst for animal protein Nan-Dirk Mulder noted in the report. Overall poultry trade is expected to remain robust in the second half of 2024 with most international markets maintaining strength and balance, increasing the demand for chicken imports, he said. Poultry consumption growth is forecast to reach 2.5% to 3% for 2024, marking a return to historic levels, the report noted. Amid the anticipated upswing, China and Japan continue to suffer from local poultry oversupply, which led to “large year-over-year declines in raw chicken imports in the first half of 2024,” according to the Rabobank report. Additionally, Middle East tensions and the resulting rerouting of trade through South Africa are causing longer transport times and higher costs in the import markets in Europe and Asia. The report adds that the threat of avian influenza remains a challenge for the poultry industry, though the European Union in 2024 posted the slowest pace of outbreaks since 2019. The report warns that poultry supply growth discipline will be important to keep operating under balanced market conditions in light of ongoing high risks that could negatively affect global trade flows.

A Minnesota federal judge has ordered that a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and six states against Agri Stats will stay put, in a ruling in response to the agricultural data firm’s attempt to get the case moved. The DOJ and the states, including California, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, accused the company of conspiring with major U.S. meat processors to exchange information, potentially manipulating markets for broiler chicken, pork, and turkey. Agri Stats sought to transfer the case to another venue or dismiss it altogether, citing jurisdiction issues and a failure to state a claim. Agri Stats argued that the case should be dismissed, in part, because it was dismissed from the In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust lawsuit in July. However, the judge ruled that the plaintiffs' claims regarding pork and turkey met necessary legal standards, and the broiler chicken claim would not be dismissed based on precedents from other districts. The lawsuit alleges that Agri Stats's information-sharing practices allowed meat processors to coordinate and inflate prices, harming consumers. Despite Agri Stats halting pork and turkey reports in 2019, the Court recognized potential future harm, supporting the plaintiffs' standing. This marks the second loss in the courtroom for Agri Stats within the past week. On May 22, the judge ruled that the company could not halt discovery in a lawsuit brought on by the DOJ. The firm sought to halt discovery, arguing it would be burdensome given the pre-existing documentation from prior litigation.  

Whetstone Distribution, a newly formed food distributor, has acquired Wisconsin-based Pritzlaff Wholesale Meats, a parent firm announced this week. Shore Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on microcap companies across sectors including food and beverage, said that it had formed Whetstone as a platform for regional food regional food distributors. At the same time, the company announced Whetstone’s purchase of Pritzlaff Wholesale Meats, which operates two processing facilities in southeast Wisconsin producing pastrami, corned beef, sausage and other smoked and marinated specialty meats under the Riverside label, with full-service meat distribution to restaurants, hotels, healthcare facilities and re-distributors. Pritzlaff does business mainly in southeast Wisconsin and northeast Illinois. “After 80-plus years of family ownership, and four generations of family involvement, I’m extremely excited to be partnering with Whetstone Distribution,” Bruce Pritzlaff said. “This partnership allows us to further strengthen and grow all core aspects of our company as well as expand our geographic footprint, from Wisconsin and Northern Illinois further into the greater Midwest.” The Whetstone launch brings Pritzlaff together with two previous Shore Capital acquisitions — Chicago-based Moesle Meat Distribution Co. and Queen Foods of Kansas City, Kansas — targeting restaurant and grocery clients across the Midwest and its offerings to include services for restaurants as well as grocery customers. Shore Capital partner Richard Boos said that Whetstone is “building a robust and diversified food distribution platform.”

The USDA’s quarterly update of agricultural trade projections shows an expanding agricultural trade deficit. The value of U.S. farm exports was slightly higher than imports in 2021-22, but a deficit of $16.7 billion opened up last year, nearly entirely the result of a drop in export values. The forecast for 2024, issued jointly by USDA’s Economic Research Service and Foreign Agricultural Service, widened to a trade deficit of $32 billion from an estimate of $30.5 billion in February. The change represents a further increase in ag imports by $1.5 billion. The report’s projection for ag exports was $170.5 billion, unchanged from February, which would be a significant decline from 2023 export values of $178.7 billion. US farm exports peaked at $196.1 billion in 2022. “Generally speaking, our exports are struggling,” USDA chief economist Seth Meyer said. The 2024 projection for exports of livestock, poultry and dairy was hiked from $37.7 billion to $38.5 billion. Within that category, the forecast for beef and veal exports was revised $200 million upward to $9.1 billion, while dairy exports were estimated to hit $8 billion, $300 million higher than the earlier forecast. The estimates for pork and chicken exports were little changed. “Overall, livestock, poultry, and dairy exports are forecast $800 million higher to $38.5 billion, led by increases in dairy and beef,” the USDA report said.  

New polling data from YouGov suggests clear divides among the American public in how they feel about cultivated meat products. In response to a question about state laws that would ban "making and selling meat that is grown in a laboratory," 31% said they would support such a ban, while 36% were opposed and 32% were unsure. The divides, though, were much starker when it came to actually consuming cultivated meat: Only 10% of Americans, according to YouGov, are "definitely" willing to try such a product, while 18% would "probably" try it. That contrasts with 40% who would "definitely not" try it, 20% who would probably not, and 12% who were unsure. Even in a hypothetical future where cultivated meat is "indistinguishable" from animal protein, 50% of Americans would still prefer meat from animals, versus 13% who would choose the cultivated product (22% were unsure). "These findings highlight a mix of curiosity, skepticism and entrenched preferences that could shape the future of lab-grown meat adoption," YouGov stated in a statement accompanying the survey. Conducted on May 29, the YouGov poll sampled more than 9,200 U.S. adults.

A class of chicken buyers this week defended in a court filing a request for an additional $37 million from producers to pay lawyer fees in a lawsuit accusing the nation’s largest processors of colluding to fix chicken prices. Earlier this month, an Illinois federal judge asked the class of chicken buyers to respond to several points raised on the matter. The buyers argued that their request for one-third of the net settlement sum is consistent with Seventh Circuit precedent and similar antitrust class actions, referencing previous cases.  The Seventh Circuit previously highlighted the importance of considering auction bids and out-of-circuit decisions when determining attorney fees.  The buyers maintained that a one-third fee award is appropriate and consistent with market rates for complex antitrust litigation. They urged the court to uphold the fee award in line with previous rulings, reflecting market norms and the substantial risks undertaken by the counsel. The judge had not ruled on the issue as of Thursday morning.   The buyers received $284.6 million in settlements from the processors to date. The class reached settlements with 13 processors including Fieldale Farms ($2.3 million), Peco Foods ($5 million), George’s Poultry ($4 million), Amick Farms ($4 million), Pilgrim’s Pride ($75 million), Tyson Foods ($79.3 million), Mar-Jac Poultry ($8 million), Harrison Poultry ($3.3 million), Simmons Foods ($8 million), Mountaire Farms ($15.9 million), O.K. Foods ($4.9 million), House of Raeford Farms ($27.5 million) and Koch Foods ($47.5 million). In October, Sanderson won in the first trial involving the antitrust claims against the poultry industry.  

Construction of a new laboratory facility that will serve as the new home of three Montana-based agricultural research labs officially launched last week. Located at Montana State University in Bozeman, the facility will serve as the home of the Montana Department of Livestock’s Veterinary Diagnostics Lab, the Montana Department of Agriculture’s Analytical Lab and the MSU Wool Lab. The new Combined State Laboratories building will feature state-of-the-art research capabilities aimed at supporting veterinarians, agriculture producers, wildlife managers, sheep geneticists, and livestock producers and other state entities when it opens sometime in 2026, the school said in a news release. The Montana Legislature approved funding for the project during its 2021 and 2023 legislative sessions, soon after the University of Montana System’s Board of Regents approved the project near its campus. “I can literally say this has been decades in the making,” said Mike Honeycutt, executive director of the Montana Department of Livestock. “We know there’s lots of hard work that’s been done and many generations that have been involved,” he added.