FOOD SAFETY NEWS – The mayor of an Illinois city has confirmed that PepsiCo will close a Quaker Oats plant that was temporarily shuttered during a recall of granola products in December 2023.
Mayor Ricky Williams Jr. said the plant will close on June 8, according to a Facebook post by the city of Danville, IL. Production at the plant included more than 60 products recalled in December 2023 and January 2024 because of Salmonella contamination.
The company confirmed the closure news on April 3. The company is shifting production of products made at the plant to other facilities.
“After a detailed review, we determined that meeting our future manufacturing needs would require an extended closure for enhancements and modernization,” PepsiCo said in a statement published by local news organization WCIA.
The plant had been in operation for 65 years and employed 510 people, according to the city’s Facebook post.
In its financial report for 2023, PepsiCo said sales volumes for Quaker Foods North America dropped 5 percent compared to the previous year.
The financial report also said that the division’s revenue dropped by 2 percent to $3.1 billion. Operating profit fell by 19 percent, which the company said was because of the impact of the recall.
The Quaker Oats recall began on Dec. 15, 2023, with more than 40 products implicated. The recall was expanded on Jan. 12 this year with two dozen more products pulled.
As of the posting of the recall no confirmed illnesses had been reported, according to the company.
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