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Hormel Planters Facility Returns to Service After ‘a Food Safety Issue’

Sept. 23, 2024
Just as the brand began gaining market share, the Suffolk, Va., plant was shut, dragging down company finances.

Hormel Foods’ Planters nut processing facility in Suffolk, Va., recently came back online after an unspecified “food safety issue” was discovered back in April.

Without going into details, Hormel officials first warned of the “unplanned production interruption” at the plant and its impact on company finances in a second-quarter earnings call on May 30. “We discovered a food safety issue in April which has since been resolved,” James Snee, chairman and president/CEO said in that presentation.

The plant apparently returned to service recently, “as we have taken corrective action within the facility,” Snee said in the third-quarter finance call on Sept. 4. “As production continues to ramp up, we have secured copacker partnerships to help support our snack nuts portfolio to improve fill rates, while we finish upgrades within the Suffolk plant.”

The Planters brand, acquired from Kraft Heinz in 2021,was experiencing share gains this year, much as a result of Hormel innovation. Flavored cashews and Nut Duos specifically were mentioned in presentations. Hormel expected more gains, but growth is being choked off by the manufacturing issue, although contract manufacturers are picking up some of the slack.

In the Sept. 4 call, Snee rued “some of the market impact that we had originally thought was going to be there as we continue to work through the Planters situation. By the end of this fiscal year, we believe the production disruption will be largely resolved and we will be in a much better position to return the business to full service levels.”

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.

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