Simply Essential acquires Cedar River Poultry chicken processing plant in Iowa

Simply Essentials has acquired the former Cedar River Poultry chicken processing plant in Charles City, Iowa, US, and plans to invest more than $30m to reopen the facility later this year.

Once operational, the facility will process premium chicken products to cater to health-focused consumers.

Simply Essentials claims that its chicken features flavour and health benefits derived from its proprietary flax seed diet.

This diet has been USDA Process Verified and raises the level of Omega-3 fatty acids in the protein by up to 400% whilst reducing the cholesterol by up to 40%.

The processing plant has been unoperational for almost ten years. The company plans to appoint 250 employees at the re-opened plant.

The facility is being designed with air-chilled processing technology, which uses cold air to individually chill the chicken throughout the process instead of conventional processing that chills birds in a common bath of chlorine water.

Air-chilled processing retains flavour and not water.

Simply Essentials CEO Dennis Krause said: "Simply Essentials is building a facility with unparalleled levels of technology, efficiency, sustainability, safety and animal welfare. This will result in a better tasting, healthier end product for sure, but the plant is being designed to be safer for plant workers and will require far fewer natural resources to run the plant because of its unique processing design.

"Our Charles City facility will be the industry leader for chicken produced to meet consumer desires for a healthier raised and better tasting product."

The plant will annually procure more than 200,000t of grain from local farmers.

Simply Essentials has partnered with Prairie’s Best as its local grower partner, and the latter will appoint local partners to serve as contract growers.