Tyson Foods said that it has little information about why two of its plants were banned from importing product to Russia, but that it will work with Russia and the USDA to resolve the matter. The two plants are located in Columbus Junction, Iowa, and Waterloo, Iowa. Russia said its bans were due to E. coli in the meat. The country also banned pork from plants in Brazil and Paraguay and a horse meat plant in Argentina for the same reason.

"We have very few details about the Russian plant de-listings. We can tell you we're confident about the safety of our pork products. All of our fresh pork operations are federally inspected and have government inspectors on hand every moment they're in operation," Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson told Reuters.

Source: Reuters

Kraft to expand Lunchables manufacturing facility

Kraft Foods Inc. will expand its plant in Avon, N.Y., to develop new Lunchables combinations. The line, which will be operational later this year, will add 50 full-time jobs to the facility, which employs 360 people. The Lunchables products produced at the plant are distributed throughout the eastern United States, reports Business First of Buffalo.

Kraft will receive two $125,000 grants from Empire State Development Corp. and the Division of housing and Community Renewal, through New York's Community Development Block Grant program. The facility produces Lunchables products and Cool Whip topping.

Source: Business First of Buffalo

Companies in Oklahoma lawsuit object to settlement

The 12 Arkansas poultry companies involved in a lawsuit over pollution of Oklahoma's Illinois River watershed are objecting to a settlement between the state and a 13th company, Willow Brook Foods Inc. Last month, Willow Brook, which was a poultry processor before being acquired by Cargill and left the business, agreed to pay $120,000 to settle. The remaining companies alleged that Oklahoma's Attorney General Drew Edmondson improperly entered into a consent decree with the company, according to Forbes.

Attorneys for the company says that the objection is not directed at Willow Brook. They want Edmondson to explain how the $120,000 figure was reached and who will decide how the settlement money is spent. "We are not allowed to disclose the settlement demands Mr. Edmondson has made upon the other companies," said Robert George, attorney for Tyson Foods Inc., one of the companies named in the pollution lawsuit. "However, he needs to advise the public whether he will use the same formula or approach for other defendants."

A spokesman for the attorney's office said that the figure was reached because Willow Brook had only 16 of the 1,800 estimated poultry houses in the watershed, and they had not been operating in the area for a long time. An attorney for Willow Brook, now operating as Cold Zone Inc., expressed surprise that the other companies were objecting to the settlement. The trial is set for September.

Source: Forbes