Volaille Giannone announced Friday it will close the former Avicomax plant at Drummondville effective Nov. 6, after having bought it from Maple Leaf Foods in July for an undisclosed sum.

Giannone, which already operates a poultry slaughter and packing plant at St-Cuthbert, about 65 km southwest of Trois-Rivieres, said Friday it will now instead “concentrate its activities” at that facility.

“This difficult decision follows a thorough review of the condition of the plant’s facilities,” CEO Bruno Giannone said in a release.

Company management had come to the conclusion that “the investments required to modernize, renovate the infrastructure and update the equipment of this plant would be too large to ensure its long-term viability,” he said.

Producers who deliver to Drummondville plant have been informed of the plan, Giannone said, and the company “has made all arrangements to honour existing supply contracts with the poultry farmers serving this facility.”

The decision affects 70 employees who were informed of the decision at a meeting Friday, Giannone said, noting it will also set up a “reassignment committee” to offer jobs at the St-Cuthbert plant.

Including a ferry trip across the St. Lawrence River, St-Cuthbert is about 75 km northwest of Drummondville.

Giannone will also pay severance and help other employees with their job searches, the company said.

Giannone, which began as a game bird processor, geared up into poultry packing in 1989 and today employs over 250 people processing fresh and seasoned chicken and vacuum-sealed products for markets in Quebec, other Canadian provinces and the northeastern U.S.

The Drummondville plant had been one of two that Maple Leaf bought from antibiotic-free and organic poultry processor Cericola Farms in October 2018.

At the time, Maple Leaf was shifting most of its flagship chicken brand, Maple Leaf Prime, into the RWA (raised without antibiotics) category, but sold the plant this summer as part of its “continued network optimization.”

Giannone at the time said it expected the Drummondville plant to allow it to boost its total production volume by 40 per cent. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Quebec poultry packer to shut ex-Maple Leaf plant appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Volaille Giannone, which operates a poultry slaughter and packing plant at St-Cuthbert, about 65 km southwest of Trois-Rivieres, announced Thursday it has a deal in place to buy Maple Leaf Foods’ Avicomax chicken plant at Drummondville, Que. for an undisclosed sum.

The Avicomax plant was one of two that Maple Leaf bought from antibiotic-free and organic poultry processor Cericola Farms in October 2018.

Volaille Giannone said the Drummondville plant, which employs about 100 people, will allow it to increase its production volume by 40 per cent.

“The agreement is in line with our growth objective and will help slightly increasing our production volume,” CEO Bruno Giannone said in the company’s release. “This transaction will also strengthen our marketing capacities to better meet our customers’ needs.”

The deal includes a three-year agreement to supply Maple Leaf with fresh chicken, Giannone said, and the new owner “commits to honouring existing supply agreements with poultry producers.”

The sale is expected to close this summer, subject to the usual closing conditions and regulatory approvals, Maple Leaf said in a separate release.

Maple Leaf also said Thursday it will keep and continue to operate the other Cericola poultry plant it owns at Bradford, Ont.

Maple Leaf had bought the two plants in 2018 when it was shifting most of its flagship chicken brand, Maple Leaf Prime, into the RWA (raised without antibiotics) category, which at the time it said was growing at a rate of about 25 per cent per year in Canada alone.

“Over the past few years, our leadership position in this category has grown; however, we are focused on prioritizing capital and optimizing our processing network,” Maple Leaf CEO Michael McCain said Thursday.

The sale of the Drummondville plant, he said, “is an outcome of our continued network optimization.”

Volaille Giannone, which began as a game bird processor, geared up into poultry packing in 1989 and today employs over 250 people processing fresh and seasoned chicken and vacuum-sealed products for markets in Quebec, other Canadian provinces and the northeastern U.S. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Quebec packer buying Maple Leaf chicken plant appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The colony, located near Walsh, shipped 200 hogs to Britco Pork in Langley, B.C. earlier this month and sent a second load a few days later. Britco, a specialty pork-processing division of Donald’s Fine Foods, will sell the RWA pork in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.

“We’re very excited about this — to be among the first producers of RWA pork in Canada,” said Paul Hofer, swine manager for Spring Creek Colony. “Any time you change a production approach you have to be very careful. We were a bit nervous at first, but we took it slow, got the right advice and implemented the right practices.”

The move to antibiotic-free production went well, said Mike Hofer, assistant swine manager. “The barn is clicking on all cylinders and the full flow of our swine production is now going out RWA,” he said. “Average days to market, feed conversion, gain, even mortality — it’s either similar or often significantly better under the new program.”

The progress by Spring Creek may prove a tipping point for swine production in Western Canada and beyond, as more operations consider reducing or eliminating use of antimicrobials. Along with increased consumer demand for antibiotic-free pork, governments are also imposing restrictions on antimicrobial use. In the U.S., the Veterinary Feed Directive — which bans antibiotic use for growth promotion and feed efficiency and greater vet oversight for treating sick animals — takes effect Jan. 1. Similar rules are planned for Canada.

The issue is not black and white, said Paul Hofer, but the colony wanted to be positioned for the future by reducing reliance on antimicrobials as much as possible without compromising animal health and welfare.

“I think the future is coming this way… it’s what the marketplace wants and what consumers want,” he said. “We figured if we’re going to be in this business long term, then this is the best approach and we should get ahead of the curve.

“For us, animal health and welfare is still first and foremost. Part of our approach is doing all we can to create an environment where disease risk is as low as possible and where the animals are well supported, for example with nutritious high-quality feed and clean water. We try to keep the disease challenges down in the barn and keep a healthy gut in the pig.”

Sick animals are still treated with antimicrobials, he added.

“But we separate the treated animals out so they go to a different market not with the RWA animals,” he said. “So far we haven’t had to treat many.”

Cleanliness is critical, said Mike Hofer. That includes regular washing and intense disinfecting of the pens and rooms, and strict biosecurity protocols are also observed. In addition, the colony uses bio-based feed additives (such as enzymes and nucleotides) to support optimal nutrition, health and performance.

“The feed technology has come a long way and is a big part of our program that we couldn’t have done this without,” said Paul Hofer. “It does a lot to make sure you get the same or better performance even without antibiotics. And bio based fits what consumers want.”

The colony also passed regular third-party audits to ensure RWA status.

“It has taken more work to run the program but it has been worth it,” said Paul Hofer. “We have less health issues and the results are better than ever. We feel great about the product we are producing.”

The post Hutterite colony blazes antibiotic-free trail appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Rivals such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and McDonald’s have announced similar supply-chain shifts, adding pressure on U.S. livestock producers to cut human antibiotics from their beef, hogs and poultry production.

Advocacy groups said they were about to present Subway with a petition demanding the company set a timeline for its restaurants to stop serving meat from animals that had been treated with antibiotics.

Subway said customers will be able to start buying chicken raised without antibiotics at its more than 27,000 fast-food restaurants starting in March. The company did not state when antibiotic-free turkey will become available.

By 2018 it expects to shift all chicken and turkey supplies over to antibiotic-free meats. The company said that within six years after that, it will begin serving pork and beef only from animals raised without antibiotics.

The plans only apply to the U.S. stores’ suppliers, but while those moves are underway, a company spokesperson said Monday, the chain “will continue to work with our suppliers in Canada and around the world to make progress on all our initiatives.”

When a “Canada-specific” timeline to supply antibiotic-free meats to the chain’s Canadian stores is available, the company “will be in touch,” the spokesperson said.

“A change like this will take some time, particularly since the supply of beef raised without antibiotics in the U.S. is extremely limited and cattle take significantly longer to raise,” said Dennis Clabby, executive vice-president of Subway’s independent purchasing co-operative. “But, we are working diligently with our suppliers to make it happen.”

Subway’s was one of the most aggressive moves by the food sector to reduce use of antibiotics in meat production. The Natural Resources Defense Council and U.S. Public Interest Research Group said they and other groups were about to deliver a petition with nearly 300,000 signatures calling for a concrete timeline for the step.

Subway officials could not immediately be reached for comment about the petition.

Public health experts and federal regulators have long been concerned that routine feeding of antibiotics to animals could lead to antibiotic-resistant superbugs, a health hazard for humans.

But finding enough protein raised in the U.S. without such drugs has proved to be a challenge for food companies.

McDonald’s has said it plans to source only chicken raised without antibiotics important to human medicine by 2017 for its U.S. restaurants. Dunkin’ Donuts will prohibit suppliers from using medically important antibiotics or antimicrobials in healthy animals, but has no timeline.

Many large U.S. fast-food chains still serve meat from farm animals that have been routinely fed antibiotics, consumer groups said in a report released last month.

Subway in June also announced a new policy for all its North American operations, removing all artificial colours, flavours and preservatives from its sandwiches, salads, soups and cookies.

— P.J. Huffstutter is a Reuters correspondent covering the ag sector from Chicago. Includes files from AGCanada.com Network staff.

The post Subway shifting all U.S. meat supplies to no antibiotics, ever appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.