Keystone Foods to build Indonesia poultry and beef processing facility

Keystone Foods plans to build its first processing facility in Indonesia in 2014, handling poultry and beef products. Geographic expansion, prioritizing Indonesia and the Middle East, is a key part of Keystone's growth plans, according to the company. The new facility will have an operating capacity of 10,000 metric tons per year, require an initial investment of $6 million and will be principally poultry-focused but will also process beef products.
The company is also considering whether to build its first pattie and processed foods facility in the Middle East. The Middle East region is currently serviced from Keystone's operations in Malaysia and Thailand.
Keystone's executive vice president for the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region, Richard Wong, said the company currently has production facilities in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Hong Kong and South Korea that serve other APMEA countries.

Maple Lodge Farms faces charges in chicken deaths

Canadian chicken processor Maple Lodge Farms is facing 60 criminal charges from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency due to alleged violations of federal animal health regulations in the wake of thousands of chicken deaths between December 2008 and February 2009, and December 2009 and April 2010.
According to the charges, the chickens died from exposure to cold conditions during transportation from farm to slaughterhouse, often because of proximity to a truck trailer's floor or walls. Maple Lodge has emphasized that it does everything it can to ensure the humane transportation of its chickens. “We have very stringent protocols in place regarding the transportation of animals,” said company spokesperson Carol Gardin. “At the end of the day, it’s not only moral and ethical considerations regarding the humane handling of the birds, there’s a financial incentive to keep the birds in the best health.” From January to June 2011, Maple Lodge accrued 26 administrative monetary penalties from the CFIA and paid $120,600 in fines. 

Processors to learn about detection, control of salmonella at Petfood Forum

Dr. Melinda Hayman of Food Safety Net Services aims to help processors understand the science behind salmonella and how to best manage this food-borne pathogen during her presentation, "Detection and control of salmonella," at Petfood Forum 2011, April 11 through 13, in Schaumburg, Ill.
Hayman will review sampling plan design and implementation, discuss testing technologies and explain the role of process validation studies to ensure the effectiveness of processing steps in the reduction and control of salmonella.
Members of the poultry and feed industries involved in pet food manufacturing are invited to attend this annual event. Details of additional scheduled sessions on pet food processing and safety for this year’s event can be viewed here.

Poultry Products International to build $2.75 million Idaho processing plant

Poultry Products International has moved forward with plans to build a $2.75 million chicken processing plant in Burley, Idaho, rebooting a project that had languished for several years before permits were renewed at the end of 2009.
The project, which involved the purchase of 112 acres of land in the area, will also include a hatchery and other facilities at remote locations that have not yet been named, according to Burley's Economic Director Doug Manning. The work of building the plant is expected to create 1,000 construction jobs over two years and as many permanent jobs when construction is finished. It is uncertain as of yet exactly when construction will start, but it may be as soon as this year, according to Manning.

Tyson Foods to expand poultry processing plant

Tyson Foods Inc. is expanding its chicken processing complex in Wilkesboro, N.C. to improve the efficiency of its fresh poultry operations.
The focus of the $20 million project is twofold: a new chicken deboning system and the replacement of cut-up equipment. The fresh plant will grow by 24,000 square feet as a result of the expansion. Once complete, the improvements are expected to bring an additional 165 production jobs to the complex. "We're excited about these projects and what they mean for the future of our Wilkesboro operations," said Bob Johnson, manager of the complex. "We're also pleased they will result in a net increase in the number of jobs we provide in the community."

Russia resumes imports of Turkish chicken after four-year ban

Russia has ended a four-year ban on processed chicken imports from Turkey after concluding that avian influenza is no longer an overarching concern in the Mediterranean nation. Turkey can now send slaughtered chickens to Russia, but live chickens, eggs and chicken feed are still prohibited, according to Agence France-Presse.
The change comes one month after Russia closed its market to U.S. chicken because it is cleaned with chlorinated water, a violation of new Russian poultry processing rules.

Fire lays waste to Australian chicken facility

Fire has nearly obliterated an Inghams chicken processing plant southeast of Melbourne, Australia.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the fire began in a storage room in the afternoon. In took more than 100 firefighters to contain the blaze.
Four hundred workers were evacuated and residents have been asked to stay indoors to avoid smoke inhalation. The cause of the chicken processing plant's fire is not yet known.