The Foster Farms plant that was closed by the FSIS due to presence of cockroaches opened over the weekend only to be voluntarily closed again on Sunday, Jan. 12. The company said in a statement that it was “voluntarily and temporarily” putting operations at its Livingston, Calif., fresh chicken production facility on hold to further expand its USDA-approved safe manufacturing procedures and monitoring systems.

Livingston maintenance employees will remain on the job; the remainder of plant employees will be called back when the plant resumes full operations.

Foster Farms’ statement read, “The company is exercising vigilance and choosing to dedicate additional time to ensuring its preventative plan is fully realized with the most effective technology and treatments available. Foster Farms expects this closure to be brief, lasting several days, but does not at this time have a definitive date for resuming operations. No other plants are affected. Company officials said that no product, packaging or line was in any way affected. Production will be shifted temporarily to the company's two other Central Valley, California plants.”

Foster Farms President Ron Foster said the company wanted to take the time to properly implement new food safety measures, reports the Fresno Bee.

"I made a commitment to making this right and we are taking every opportunity to ensure the long-term efficacy of our program at this plant," Foster said. "We will not resume operations until we are confident that we have the most stringent and effective treatment protocols in place."

Source: Foster Farrms, Fresno Bee