St Paul – Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NYSE:SAFM) the company engaged in the production, processing, marketing and distribution of fresh and frozen chicken has been issued a violation notice on a proposed chicken processing facility in Robeson County, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality said today to Fay Observer.
Mississippi-based poultry processor announced it would build a plant that will eventually employ 1,100 people in St. Pauls, a town of about 2,250. State environmental officials sent the company a notice of violation and intent to enforce it for starting construction without a proper permit. A similar proposal has already been rejected by Cumberland County because of overwhelming community opposition.
The facility is planning to be about two miles northwest of Interstate 95, but representatives of the state Department of Environmental Quality said Sanderson Farms violated a state environmental law by starting construction without a land permit. The company should stop construction of the proposed structure or otherwise face a fine.
“Construction of the wastewater facility is not allowed until a non-discharge, land application permit has been issued […] we take this action very seriously and appreciate the information we received from concerned residents during the public hearing process.” said Jay Zimmerman, director of the N.C. Division of Water Resources, in the release to Business Wire.
One resident told the three division representatives that Water Resources had “already been given the green light” to issue the permit.
Chicken Recall
A sample of the products analyzed by a customer of the company was found to contain foreign material. As a precautionary measure, Sanderson Farms has voluntarily recalled approximately 551,090 pounds of product.
None of the products that are the subject of this recall were shipped to grocery stores, according to Business Wire. The product included ice packed chicken products sold to three customers who use the products for additional processing into further processed chicken products. The company identified all of the products and notified its customers to place the products on hold, return them to the company and further execute the recall of these products.
The products involved in the recall were produced at the Hazlehurst, Mississippi, plant on September 17 and 18, 2015. The company is aware of no injuries or adverse reaction caused as a result of consuming this product yet.
Source: Bussiness Wire