Smithfield says it’s well-positioned to supply ractopamine-free pork
Smithfield Foods Inc. said that the company is well positioned to meet rising demand for ractopamine-free pork, following recent announcements that China and Russia will require third party certification that pork exports are ractopamine-free. Smithfield leads the industry in the production of ractopamine-free pork.
Smithfield has been leveraging its integrated platform to supply ractopamine-free pork to export customers for some time. The company said that its Clinton, North Carolina plant #413 has been 100% ractopamine-free since last year and has been regularly shipping product from that plant since that time. In addition, the company is in the final stages of converting its Tar Heel, North Carolina plant #18079, the world's largest pork processing facility. The Tar Heel plant will be fully converted by March 1, 2013, in time to comply with the new regulatory requirements from China.