Tyson Foods Partners with Grupo Vibra to Continue its Global Growth Strategy

Buys a 40% stake in the foods division of the Brazilian poultry company

As part of its global growth strategy, Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) has reached an agreement to invest in the foods division of Grupo Vibra (“Vibra Foods”), a Brazilian producer and exporter of poultry products. Once completed, the deal will give Tyson Foods more flexibility in serving customers in key global markets. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and the transaction is still subject to approval by Brazilian regulators.

“This investment will enable us to access poultry supplies in Brazil to meet the growing needs of Brazilian customers and of priority demand markets in Asia, Europe and the Middle East,” said Donnie King, group president, international & chief administration officer for Tyson Foods. “It’s part of our strategy to develop a more flexible supply chain and mitigate the volatility of our previous model, which relied primarily on U.S. exports.”

Since last year, Tyson Foods has...

FSIS Announces New Guidance on Meal Kit Labeling

The Food Safety and Inspection Service is announcing the availability of the Agency’s guideline on kit products that contain meat or poultry components. The guideline will help facilities determine whether a meal kit product needs to be prepared under FSIS inspection as well as how it needs to be labeled.

There are numerous types of kit products that feature a component of meat or poultry. Kits that feature wraps, pizzas, stew, salads, fajitas or stir-fry meals are some examples. Some of the components, may require cooking...

NTF to Address State of Turkey Industry on Capitol Hill 

The National Turkey Federation (NTF) released a statement today on the announcement of a hearing before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture. The hearing will feature testimony from several producers from the livestock and poultry industries. John Zimmerman, a Minnesota turkey grower and NTF Executive Committee member, will represent the turkey industry.

“NTF is honored to have the opportunity to testify before the Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee on issues affecting the turkey industry and where we find ourselves in today’s rapidly changing landscape,” said Joel Brandenberger..."

NUGGS, the World's First "Chicken" Nugget Startup, Launches

NUGGS, the "chicken" nugget startup, is pleased to announce its official launch. Founded by 19-year-old tech wunderkind and entrepreneur Ben Pasternak, NUGGS will disrupt the animal-based meat industry with its new nugget technology.

NUGGS are a more advanced version of the animal-based chicken nuggets that have dominated the market for decades. After over a year of research and development, NUGGS has developed a nugget that uses an advanced texturized pea protein technology to create a nugget with the best texture, crunch and taste...

The Makers of Hormel® Natural Choice® Add Global Inspired Flavors to Snacking Portfolio

The makers of Hormel® Natural Choice® deli meats announced today the addition of two new all-natural* deli meat and cheese snacks to its growing on-the-go snacking line up. The two new flavors are inspired by bold global flavors and offer consumers a delicious and convenient way to snack naturally. 

The newest varieties - Mediterranean style chicken paired with bruschetta jack cheese alongside garlic and herb pita chips; and chipotle chicken paired with queso quesadilla cheese and flax seed corn chips... 

All You Can Eat Riblets, Chicken Tenders & Shrimp Is Back at Applebee’s by Popular Demand 

Summer is officially here, and longer days and hot nights are the best excuses to ditch the kitchen and head out for dinner. Starting today, All You Can Eat Riblets, Chicken Tenders & Shrimp makes its triumphant return to Applebee’s® restaurants nationwide starting at only $14.99*.

With Double Crunch Shrimp joining the lineup earlier this year to make the ultimate All You Can Eat trio, we had to give it another chance to shine just in time for summertime...

USDA and FDA to Jointly Oversee Regulation of Cell-Cultured Food Products

The following is a statement from USDA Secretary Perdue and FDA Commissioner Gottlieb:

After several thoughtful discussions between our two Agencies that incorporated this stakeholder feedback, we have concluded that both the USDA and the FDA should jointly oversee the production of cell-cultured food products derived from livestock and poultry. Drawing on the expertise of both USDA and FDA, the Agencies are today announcing agreement on a joint regulatory framework wherein FDA oversees cell collection, cell banks, and cell growth and differentiation. A transition from FDA to USDA oversight will occur during the cell harvest stage. USDA will then oversee the production and labeling of food products derived from the cells of livestock and poultry. And, the Agencies are actively refining the technical details of the framework, including...

 Les Aliments O Sole Mio, Inc., Recalls Poultry Products Produced Without Benefit of Inspection

Class I Recall 
Health Risk: High

Les Aliments O Sole Mio, Inc., a Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada establishment, is recalling approximately 3,880 pounds of chicken tortellini products that were produced without the benefit of inspection by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and imported into the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The heat treated, not fully cooked, not shelf stable chicken tortellini items were produced on October 20, 2018. The following products are subject to recall...

Recall Notification Report 104-2018 (Smoked Whole Chicken Products)

Class III Recall

All People’s Food, a New Castle, Del. establishment, is recalling approximately 3,904 pounds of smoked whole chicken products due to misbranding, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The products contain monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is not declared on the product label.

The fully cooked, frozen smoked whole chicken items were produced on various dates from Sept. 4, 2018 through Sept. 25, 2018. The following products are subject to recall...

NCC Says USDA Must Take Part in Regulation of Cell-Cultured Meat Products

The National Chicken Council (NCC) on October 23 delivered its priorities for cell-cultured meat products as part of the first joint meeting between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on the use of cell culture technology to develop products derived from livestock and poultry.

“As these new technologies are being explored, it is critical that they receive fair and proper regulatory oversight to ensure that consumers maintain the same level of confidence in the safety and labeling of these products as they have since 1906 under the Federal Meat Inspection Act for traditionally-derived red meat products and since 1957 under the Poultry Products Inspection Act for traditionally-derived poultry products,” said Ashley Peterson, Ph.D., NCC senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs.

To that end, the National Chicken Council believes that the following principles are essential for ensuring that cell-cultured meat products are marketed in a safe and properly labeled manner for consumers...

Agribusinesses Seek to Modernize Global Agricultural Commodity Trade Operations

Driven by opportunities to increase transparency and efficiency for customers, global agribusinesses are turning to emerging digital technologies – including blockchain and artificial intelligence options – to reduce resource- and time-intensive processes associated with the global agricultural commodity value chain.

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) (“ADM”), Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) (“Bunge”), Cargill, Incorporated (“Cargill”), and Louis Dreyfus Company (“LDC”) are investigating ways to standardize and digitize global agricultural shipping transactions for the benefit of the entire industry. The companies also seek broad-based industry participation to promote global access and adoption.

Initially, ADM, Bunge, Cargill and LDC are focused on technologies to automate grain and oilseed post-trade execution processes, as they represent a highly manual and costly part of the supply chain, with the industry spending significant amounts of money every year moving documents around the globe. Eliminating inefficiencies would lead to shorter document-processing times, reduced wait times and better end-to-end contracting visibility.

Longer term, the companies want to drive greater reliability, efficiency and transparency by replacing other manual, paper-based processes tied to contracts, invoices and payments, with a more modern, digitally based approach. Specific benefits would include...

This Week in Retail: How Grocery Spending Stacks Up Among the States

Recent data released by the United States Census Bureau shows that meat and poultry make up the highest percentage of grocery sales in the U.S. at 10.5 percent. Produce accounts for the second highest percentage with 9.2 percent. In third place, dairy claims 7.1 percent, while frozen foods come in fourth with 5.2 percent. Deli items represent 3.8 percent of national grocery sales, narrowly beat out by soft drink and non-alcoholic beverage sales at 4 percent.  

States spending the highest proportion of their grocery sales on meat and poultry include Louisiana and Mississippi, accounting for 16.1 and 15.1 percent, respectively. Arkansas follows in third place with 14.3 percent, then Alabama with 13.8 and Oklahoma with 13.4 percent. Puerto Rico meat and poultry sales notably account for a whopping 19.8 percent of total grocery sales.  

Conversely, states spending the least amount on meat and poultry at the grocery store, or less than the national average, include Hawaii at 8.1 percent, followed by Washington and Oregon, accounting for just... 

Church's Chicken and Texas Chicken Roll Out First-Ever Global Brand Positioning

In front of a standing-room-only crowd at a San Antonio conference center, domestic and international franchisees and operational leadership from Church's Chicken and its sister chain, Texas Chicken, came together for only the second time in the history of the brands to learn how the company will strategically reposition itself moving forward. The unveiling of the brand positioning work was a highlight moment during the recent 2018 Global Excellence in Leadership Conference.

"We are one brand serving a very similar menu but we are in distinctly different stages of our life cycles.  Our domestic roots go back 66 years, but our international footprint has really just started to take off in the past few years...

This Week in Retail: Fall Transition Pace to Quicken Into October

The seasonal transition in retail meat and poultry features typically quickens considerably during October as cooler fall temperatures begin to dominate the majority of the nation.

The change in focus from grilling cuts to more roasts has been underway for a few weeks but will become even more evident in the weekly advertisements ahead. Portions of the upper Midwest are approaching the first frost of the season and have come close to that already this week.

The cooler temperatures are forecast to move eastward across the Ohio Valley as the week draws to a close, according...

Protein: Consumers Want It, But Don't Understand It

U.S. consumers have a growing appetite for all things protein. In fact, 55% of U.S. households say high protein is now an important attribute to consider when buying food for their households. Across the country, 6% of households include someone who lives on a high-protein diet. That’s more than 5.4 million people.

While the popularity of plant-based proteins is certainly growing, data shows that consumers are still choosing traditional sources of protein such as meat, eggs and dairy as their primary source. They still dominate in sales as well, as these five categories...

North Carolina Pork Council Statement on Hurricane Florence Sept. 18

In North Carolina, we raise about 8.9 million pigs on 2,100 farms. Our farmers took extraordinary measures in advance of this storm, including moving thousands of animals out of harm’s way as the hurricane approached.

The storm’s impact was felt deeply across a very large region, and the approximately 5,500 swine losses reported by the NCDA&S Emergency Programs and Veterinary Services divisions were the result of all aspects of the storm, including wind damage and flooding. We are saddened by this outcome.

We do not expect the losses to increase significantly, though floodwaters continue to rise in some locations ...