Husi Food Co. investigation nets five arrests

Authorities in China have detained five people in its investigation of Husi Food Co., which has been accused of selling expired poultry and beef to restaurant chains in China. Husi Food Co. is a subsidiary of Illinois-based OSI Group.
Chinese police did not release the names of those taken into custody, but did identify one as a person responsible for Husi Food Co. and another as a quality supervisor for the company, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Authorities told the state-controlled news agency Xinhua that there is reason to believe that the food safety violations were not the act of an individual, but rather a plan organized by the company.
The investigation into Husi Food Co. was launched after China’s Dragon TV reported that the company had taken expired beef and poultry meat, repackaged it with false expiration dates, and sold it to a group of restaurants with a presence in China, including KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s and Dicos. All four of the restaurant chains have stopped purchasing from Husi Food Co.
Since news of the expired meat scandal broke, several other restaurant chains, including Burger King, Starbucks and Papa John’s have identified meat products purchased from Husi, and have also stopped doing business with the company.
OSI Group has apologized for the incident and launched its own investigation into the matter.

Hain Celestial now fully owns antibiotic-free poultry company

The Hain Celestial Group, a natural and organic products company based in Lake Success, New York, has acquired the remaining 51.3 percent of Hain Pure Protein (HPP) Corporation, an antibiotic-free and organic poultry company.  Hain Celestial purchased the remaining shares of HPP from an affiliate of Pegasus Capital Advisors for a price of $40 million.
HPP offers a full range of fresh and frozen FreeBird brand chicken and Plainville Farms turkey, as well as a number of private label products in the United States.
"We are very excited about the strategic acquisition of HPP. Our joint venture has successfully grown from incubation to over $200 million in net sales by focusing on antibiotic-free and organic poultry," said Irwin D. Simon, founder, president and CEO of Hain Celestial. "While we have enjoyed partnering with Pegasus for many years, having Freebird chicken and Plainville Farms turkey as part of Hain Celestial's branded product portfolio provides us with a wide array of Farm to Table product offerings from fresh to deli and food service in a growing category that appeals to those seeking ‘the pure foods trend,’ including our core natural and organic consumers." 
All FreeBird and Plainville Farms products carry the Earthwise banner on packaging, which signifies humanely-raised and vegetarian-fed poultry from family farms, without the use of growth hormones or antibiotics. HPP's customers include grocery and natural foods retailers as well as food service outlets including fast casual and white tablecloth venues, which feature food that is grown sustainably and without genetically modified organisms.
Jay Lieberman, chief operating officer of HPP, will continue to be responsible for the day-to-day operations of HPP, which will be a separate operating segment of the company reporting to Simon. With HPP's expertise in food service, Ted Maguire, senior vice president, sales of HPP, will now be responsible for expanding Hain Celestial's products into the food service channel currently served by HPP.
"We expect to deliver synergies through increased sales growth and cost efficiencies by effectively leveraging Hain Celestial's broader scale, as we have successfully demonstrated with our previous acquisitions," added Simon. "This is a great category for us.  We view HPP's product offerings as a complement to our existing product portfolio and a platform from which we can expand our snacks and other Hain Celestial's product offerings into food service, and we will continue to pursue other accretive strategic acquisitions for Hain Celestial in growing categories in the natural and organic sector."

Peru’s poultry sector to grow 5 percent in 2014, Scotiabank says

Buoyed by several phenomena, the Peruvian poultry sector will experience a growth of 5 percent in 2014. The estimate was made by Scotiabank and published in the journal Gestión, which specializes in economic issues.
Among the factors taken into account by the bank are "improving incomes of the population and the strength of consumption outside the home, taking into account the increased presence of restaurants and chicken outlets (or points of sales)."
And likewise, "the increase in the marketing of products with higher added value and longer shelf life, partly taking advantage on the fact that there are many more supermarkets as well as the high price of substitute products such as beef and pork, and unstable supply of other low-price proteins as fresh fish, which depends on normal weather conditions."
The retail price of chicken meat, so far in 2014, recorded a significant decline in May and a slight recovery since June. Scotiabank projects this value will remain at least stable, due to increased production in the second half of the year and relative stability in the price of key industry feed ingredients like corn. Large crops of this grain are expected in the United States, European Union, Russia and Ukraine. "The average price of corn will reach $187 per metric ton, priced below $235, which was paid in 2013," the bank stated.

Public review of revised poultry inspection rule urged by union

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the nation's largest union of federal employees, says the public should be allowed to review and comment on the U.S Department of Agriculture’s plan to modernize the U.S. poultry inspection system before the rule takes effect. USDA submitted a revised version of the rule to the Office of Management and Budget on July 10, seeking final review and approval.
USDA officials have stated that "significant changes" have been made to the original proposed rule, which has been supported by poultry industry groups like the National Turkey Federation and the National Chicken Council, but criticized by AFGE and other labor and consumer groups. The changes have not been made public.
AFGE on July 17 sent a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Howard Shelanski, administrator of OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, urging a full public review of the rule before it is finalized. Specifically, AFGE is calling on the agencies to publish the revised version of the proposed rule, open it up for a 120-day public comment period, and hold public meetings on the revised proposed rule.
"Considering the importance of this rule, stakeholders and the public should be given the opportunity to comment on the 'significant changes' made to the proposed rule before it is finalized," AFGE Legislative and Political Director Beth Moten wrote.

Sanderson Farms mulls new poultry plant in North Carolina

Sanderson Farms is considering building a chicken processing plant in Cumberland County, North Carolina. Cumberland County’s vacant Cedar Creek Business Center, a 485-acre industrial site east of Interstate 95, is being considered as a potential site for the poultry company’s expansion.
Bob “Pic” Billingsley, Sanderson Farms director of development and engineering, confirmed with the Fayetteville Observer that the company is considering building a plant in Cumberland County, after two elected officials in North Carolina told the Observer that Sanderson Farms had an interest in the area.
“What we are doing is we are gathering information, fact-finding and evaluating sites, to see if Fayetteville will be a potential site for us sometime down the road,” Billingsley said.
If constructed, the plant is expected to employ more than 1,000 people.
Expansion part of Sanderson Farms’ future
The confirmation that Sanderson Farms may build in Cumberland County supports statements made by Sanderson Farms CEO Joe Sanderson Jr., who acknowledged during a May 29 earnings conference call that the company, which has plans to expand by building new complexes, is considering a project in the Carolinas.
“We will take a look at [the possibility of building the plant in the Carolinas] at the end of this crop year,” Sanderson said.
During the conference call, Sanderson said the company would first evaluate its balance sheet and other factors that would support the expansion. He added: “If we have a site [for the construction] and our board approves, it would be time to build a plant, in my judgment.”
Sanderson Farms is also progressing with its big bird deboning complex, under construction in Palestine, Texas. The project is on schedule, with processing operations expected to begin in the first three months of 2015.

Potential Campylobacter vaccine identified through research

A potential vaccine for Campylobacter has been identified in a research project at the USDA Richard B. Russell Agricultural Research Center in Athens, Georgia. The project was funded through the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) comprehensive research program that encompasses all phases of poultry and egg production and processing.
No vaccines are currently available to prevent Campylobacter colonization of poultry. In the recently completed research project, researchers at the USDA Richard B. Russell Agricultural Research Center in Athens, Ga., purified proteins from Campylobacter and tested them for their potential use as vaccines. One particular protein, called FliD, showed particular promise. This protein is common to all 21 Campylobacter jejuni strains tested and is immunogenic in broilers. These characteristics make it a logical candidate for potential use as a vaccine. Future studies will focus on determining whether this protein can be used as a practical in ovo vaccine.
USDA scientists conducting the research included Hung-Yueh Yeh, Kelli Hiett, J. Eric Line and Bruce Seal.
A complete report that summarizes the Campylobacter research project, "Development of Campylobacter jejuni Proteins as in ovo Vaccines for Broiler Chickens," along with information on other association research, may be obtained by going to the USPOULTRY website.

Poultry house construction an easier process with zoning change

Officials in Franklin County, Virginia, have changed zoning regulations to make it easier to construct poultry houses in the county. In doing so, the county hopes that the addition of new chicken houses would help meet the growing demand for poultry, give local farmers other production options, create additional jobs in the county and give local farmers another outlet to sell their feed grains.
During a recent meeting, the county board of supervisors voted to allow property zoned A-1 (general agriculture) to be used for poultry houses. That move would eliminate the need for property owners to obtain a special use permit and go through a lengthy hearing process. Three work sessions were held to discuss the zoning changes before voting on the matter, according to the Franklin News-Post.
Only one board member voted against the zoning changes.
Requirements still must be met to avoid special use permit
While the zoning change will provide an easier process for some landowners wishing to build poultry houses, some requirements will still need to be met. For instance, a poultry house must be at least 300 feet from a dwelling, 250 feed from a property line and at least 1,000 feet from a lake, river, public school or an area that is residentially zoned.