Meat Industry INSIGHTS Newsletter

970706 Tyson Foods suspends poultry slaughter at one plant

July 15, 1997 -- Tyson Foods Inc, said it temporarily suspended slaughter operations at a plant in Arkansas in response to a government ban on poultry containing unacceptable levels of dioxin.

"Operations at our Pine Bluff slaughter facility are currently not occurring," Tyson spokesman Ed Nicholson said.

Some 1.3 million chickens are produced each week at the Pine Bluff facility.

Tyson's voluntary slaughter suspension began July 10 at midnight and will continue until dioxin levels fall below acceptable levels. The dioxin was traced to a clay ingredient that is sometimes used as an anti-caking agent in soymeal by some feed manufacturers.

USDA's Food and Safety Inspection Service ordered feed manufacturers using that clay to halt production and notify feed cusotmers.

Under the ruling, users of the feed must demonstrate that dioxin levels in meat from animals exposed to the feeds fall below the federal limit of one part per trillion.

Less than 1% of U.S. livestock feed is affected, according to USDA.

"None of our plants that produce fresh chicken for the retail marketplace are among those affected by recent government actions," Tyson said in a statement.

Overall, Tyson produces 35 million broiler chickens weekly.

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