USA – Tyson Foods has initiated construction of a US$300 million meat processing facility in Utah, USA to enable the company meet the growing demand of portioned and convenient meat product.
The plant will be a case ready meat-cutting and packaging operation that converts fresh beef and pork into steaks, chops, roasts and ground beef.
The case ready plant will be located in the Pole Canyon development at the southwest end of Eagle Mountain City and is expected to open as soon as 2021.
The project is expected to initially create more than 800 local jobs and expand to 1,200 positions within three years after opening.
Nate Hodne, senior vice president, Portioned Protein Innovations said; “The addition of this facility allows us to expand Tyson’s ability to meet growing demand from our customers for portioned and convenient meat products their consumers are demanding.”
Tyson Foods to partners with Proforest
Tyson Foods is partnering with Proforest, an independent organization focused on sustainability in the forest and agricultural sectors and implementation of responsible sourcing practices, to help the company conduct a deforestation risk assessment across its global agriculture supply chain.
The company said that the assessment will be conducted to help identify if there is risk in the company’s sourcing origins, focusing on commodities such as cattle, palm oil, soy, timber, pulp and paper.
Findings will inform the development of a Tyson Foods Forest Protection Policy in 2020. The assessment is also expected to inform, if necessary, the implementation of actions to mitigate or eliminate any identified deforestation risks.
In 2017, Tyson Foods partnered with an environmentally focused non-government organization to conduct a sustainable sourcing risk assessment, which classified the company’s deforestation risk as minimal to low.
Since then, the company has expanded its international presence from two countries to nine, with the acquisition of Keystone Foods and additional poultry businesses in Thailand and Europe.
Given the company’s expanded footprint, the supply chain will be reassessed to identify and classify potential risks.
“We’re committed to sustainably feeding the world. As part of that, we must operate with a high degree of certainty about sourcing in our supply chains across the globe,” said John R. Tyson, chief sustainability officer for Tyson Foods.
“We look forward to working with Proforest to better understand potential risks and do our part on this complicated issue.”
In addition to the partnership with Proforest, Tyson Foods recently became a member of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), a civil organization that promotes responsible production, processing and trading of soy on a global level.
The company is also a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a civil organization that works with stakeholders from across the palm oil industry to develop global standards to define and certify sustainable palm oil.
