Work at the Foster Farms California chicken plant will reopen Saturday after a temporary shut down for a reported infestation of live cockroaches.
According to NBC News, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has given the factory a green light to continue operations after performing a thorough cleanup and treatment of its plant in Livingston, Calif.,
"Foster Farms was founded on a commitment to excellence, honesty, quality and service," Ron Foster, the firm's president said in a statement. "We have devoted our fullest efforts to resolve this issue. As a company, Foster Farms will emerge stronger and with a continued commitment to quality."
The plant was ordered to shut down its poultry processing on Wednesday after health officials found the factory was infested with roaches during the four visits over the last five months: Sept. 14, Nov. 4, Dec. 28 and Jan. 7. Health officials cited the factory for "egregious insanitary conditions."
"These recent findings of egregious insanitary conditions related to a cockroach infestation in your facility indicate that your establishment is not being operated and maintained in sanitary condition, or in a manner to ensure that product is not adulterated," the suspension notice said.
According to NBC, roaches were found near the processing line and on a plastic tub, both places have been in contact with the poultry produced there. No other Foster Farms facilities has been affected and the products have "been transferred to the company's other facilities."
The Livingston facility is one of the three Foster Farms plants in central California being investigated for an outbreak of antibiotic-resistant salmonella, a disease that sicken a total of 416 people in 23 states and Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
