Taylor Farms

Last updated

Taylor Farms
Company type Private
Founded1995 as Taylor Fresh Foods
FoundersBruce Taylor
Headquarters Salinas, California, U.S.
Key people
Bruce Taylor, CEO
Products Lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, other vegetables
Number of employees
20,000 [1]
Website www.taylorfarms.com

Taylor Fresh Foods (known colloquially as Taylor Farms) is an American-based producer of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. It is based in Salinas, California. Taylor Farms [2] was founded by former Fresh Express (now Chiquita) founder and CEO Bruce Taylor in 1995. As of 2009, Taylor Farms was ranked as the world's largest salad and fresh-cut vegetable processor. [3] The company distributes their produce through third parties such as Golden State Foods to several California school districts and chain restaurants, such as McDonald's and Chipotle Mexican Grill. [4]

Contents

History

Taylor Farms was established by Bruce Taylor, a third-generation member of a family engaged in the fresh produce industry. Prior to Taylor Farms, Bruce Taylor founded Fresh Express, which Wahquita Brands later acquired. In 1995, Bruce Taylor and a group of partners founded Taylor Farms. [5]

In May 2011, Taylor Farms acquired River Ranch Fresh Foods, LLC, incorporating it as a wholly owned subsidiary. [6] However, River Ranch later closed operations in 2013. [7]

In August 2015, the company moved their headquarters to Salinas, California. [8] [9]

Operations

Taylor Farms supplies many of the largest supermarket chains and foodservice restaurants in the United States. [10] Taylor Farms headquarters are located in Salinas, California with 2,000 employees; and with regional processing plants in various locations. [10]

Taylor Farms has faced difficulties with labor shortages, labor contractors, and salaries. [11] In addition, the company has been subject to claims that they abused the 'temporary worker' contractors by keeping the 'temporary' employees as low-salaried long-term employees. [12] [13]

In 2012, Taylor Farms introduced fuel cell technology as an energy efficiency development, cutting energy costs at one facility by 30%. [14] The company has also developed a facility utilizing power co-generation, wind, and solar energy. [15] [16]

Food safety recalls

Taylor was one of the companies whose products were recalled due to food safety concerns in 2011, including a May recall of salads mixed with grape tomatoes supplied by Florida growers and an October recall of salad blends produced by Taylor. No illnesses related to consumption of the recalled products were reported. [17] [18] Additional product recalls in 2012 included mangoes voluntarily removed August 30 by Taylor Farms New Jersey and retailers from East Coast food stores in four states. [19] Drew McDonald, vice president of national quality systems for Taylor, had testified at a 2009 house panel convened to consider the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. In this testimony, McDonald expressed the opinion that final-product testing does not improve food safety and, in some cases, punishes good facilities for their surveillance when a problem is found. [3] On October 25, 2024, Taylor Farms announced a recall after it was identified as the source of an E. Coli outbreak stemming from raw onions consumed at McDonald's that were sourced from the company [20] . Initially, at least 49 people were impacted with one death attributed to the outbreak [21] . Ultimately, this was revised to 104 impacted and one death, with a FDA inspection finding numerous violations in food safety procedures at the Taylor Farms facility. [22]

Teamsters Union protest

In 2016, members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union, protested in front of Chipotle restaurants, aiming to pressure the chain to recognize their supplier, Taylor Farms, to the union. [23]

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References

  1. ↑ "Our Story".
  2. ↑ "Bruce Taylor". Hartnell College Foundation / The Western Food Safety Conference. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Sherry, Kristina (July 17, 2009), "Farmers critical of food safety bill", Los Angeles Times , retrieved September 10, 2012
  4. ↑ Chamlee, Virginia (April 14, 2016). "Why Chipotle Is Getting Hit With Farm Worker Protests". Eater. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Our Story - Taylor Farms". Taylorfarms.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Taylor Fresh Foods acquires River Ranch". Thepacker.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  7. ↑ "River Ranch fails to 'regain viability,' closes". Packer. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  8. ↑ Donnel, Jessica (August 18, 2015). "Taylor Farms Opens its New Salinas Headquarters". Andnowuknow.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Produce giant Taylor Farms buys new Salinas building - from itself - for nearly $38 million". Montereycountyweekly.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Taylor Farms Locations". Taylor Fresh Foods. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Taylor Farms and employees reach pay raise agreement". Thecalifornian.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  12. ↑ Main, Capital and (May 28, 2014). "The Dirty Truth Behind Fast Food Lettuce". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018– via Huff Post.
  13. ↑ Carroll, Rory (November 23, 2014). "Billion-dollar California salad company exploits undocumented migrants, say workers and Teamsters". the Guardian. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Corrected: Alternative energy powers Taylor Farms salads". Thepacker.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Taylor Farms wants to make food without fossil fuels". Techcrunch.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Taylor Farms Introduces Largest Solar Installation To Date". Foodmanufacturing.com. October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  17. ↑ Rizzo, Denise Ellen (May 4, 2011), "Salads with grape tomatoes recalled", Tracy Press, retrieved September 10, 2012
  18. ↑ Lunsfod, Mackensy (October 20, 2011), "Taylor Farms recalls 3,625 cases of salad blends due to potential salmonella contamination", Mountain Express, archived from the original on October 22, 2011, retrieved September 11, 2019
  19. ↑ Collins, Nikkita (September 4, 2012), "Mangoes recalled from campus Wawa", The Daily Pennsylvanian, retrieved September 10, 2012
  20. ↑ "McDonald's says supplier Taylor Farms is source of onions in deadly E. coli outbreak". NBC News. October 25, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  21. ↑ "What we know about the McDonald's E. coli outbreak in the US". www.bbc.com. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  22. ↑ Mole, Beth (January 13, 2025). "Biofilms, unwashed hands: FDA found violations at McDonald's ex-onion supplier". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  23. ↑ Castellon, David. "Union targets Taylor Farms through Chipotle". The Salinas Californian. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
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