AFOA Appoints Committees
David Italiaander, president of the American Fats and Oils Association (AFOA), has appointed chairs and members of all committees, with the following appointed as chairmen for the respective committees: Kevin Knop, ADM, vegetable oils; Arthur Brainson, Pasternak, Baum, tallow; Robert Desnoyers, Sanimal, animal proteins; Eric Jackson, International Proteins, marine products; Liam Rogers, Hudson Tank, transportation; Nicholas Sander, American Commodities, membership; Richard Hegenberger, Gersony-Strauss, nominating; Walter-Karpinski, Francis-Mustoe, program; and Lucienne Bulow, Interactive Dispute Resolution, arbitration.
APPI Certification Progressing
The Animal Protein Producers Industry’s (APPI’s) third party certification program for compliance with the Food and Drug Administra-tion’s (FDA’s) mammalian protein feeding ban is nearing completion with 98 percent participation as of the first week in July. According to Don Franco, president of APPI, only six plants remained to be registered.
“The participation is very, very encouraging,” said Franco.
The APPI Board of Directors voted in February to create a self-certification voluntary program to ensure renderers were in compliance with FDA’s feeding ban that went into effect in August 1997, which prohibits the feeding of mammalian proteins to ruminants in an effort to prevent bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a disease present in European countries but which has never been confirmed in the United States. A third party auditor was contracted to perform audits of participating renderers.
California Renderer Suffers Fire
Florin Tallow Company, Dixon, CA, suffered a major fire in the early morning hours of May 23, 2001. Eleven water tankers responded to the 4 a.m. blaze that took firefighters nearly three hours to control. Because of the remote location of the rendering plant, no fire hydrants were available.
According to company sources, the cause of the fire is still under investigation but appeared to begin at the cooker and traveled out from there, resulting in a near total loss of the facility. No employees were injured, but one firefighter did suffer minor burns. Plans are to rebuild.
The renderer is still processing in-house, transporting product to other nearby plants.
Canadian Renderer Upgrades Plant
Rothsay is planning a $10 million upgrade to its Dundas, Ontario, Canada, facility. The improvement includes the replacement of existing technology with a new state-of-the-art process to improve energy, operating efficiencies, and odor control.
The rendering company will replace two evaporator systems with more efficient models. The new evaporators will offer numerous benefits such as improved air and water discharge and improved product quality.
“This investment in our Rothsay Dundas plant demonstrates our commitment to the community,” said Chris Markwood, vice president, Ontario Region. “And offers benefits to our customers, neighbors, and the environment.”
The company stated there will be no interruption of services provided to their raw material or finished product customers. Rothsay anticipates the facility will be fully operational with the new equipment by the second quarter of 2002.
Smithfield Acquires MOPAC
Smithfield Foods, Inc., has completed the acquisition of Moyer Packing Company (MOPAC), a closely held beef processor based in Souderton, PA, with annual sales of about $600 million. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Moyer Packing operations include beef processing, fabricating, and further processing, as well as hide processing. In addition, the company has rendering operations in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia.
In other MOPAC news, the company’s rendering division has won the International Association of Webmasters and Designers Golden Web Award for creative Web development for www.greaseland.com. Entries were judged and scored on design, content, and originality. “Greaseland” received a perfect score in each category.
“We are very pleased to receive this kind of recognition,” said Nicholas C. Renzi, director of e-commerce business for MOPAC. “The Internet represents a new way of doing business for us and shows a lot of promise for enhancing and extending our services and customer relationships.”
Service Award Presented by AFIA
Long-time feed industry leader Richard Loomis has received the American Feed Industry Association’s (AFIA’s) 2001 Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor bestowed by the association. Only 21 individuals have received the prestigious award in AFIA’s 92-year history.
Loomis has an extensive background in the feed industry, dating back to 1935 when his grandfather and father built a feed mill in San Luis Obispo, CA. In 1952, he started Loomix Liquid Feed Supplements, which soon expanded into 21 states and Canada. Loomis is a former chairman of AFIA and is the previous president/chief executive officer of Loomix, Inc.
Loomis has served as director on the California Grain and Feed Association board and has been active on AFIA committees and programs for many years.
August 2001 Render