LIVINGSTON, Calif. — After what was believed by many to be a short-term interruption in production after the discovery of pests in the  plant, a Foster Farms plant remained closed 10 days after the announced discovery. On Tuesday, Jan. 21, the voluntary closure of the Foster Farms chicken plant reached 10 days with no word from company officials on when it would reopen, according to news reports. On Jan 12, the company closed the plant to conduct more work on sanitation measures following a three-day federal closure related to cockroaches discovered at the facility. The plant was in operation for only one day in between the shutdowns.

"Foster Farms, this morning, voluntarily and temporarily put operations at its Livingston, Calif., fresh chicken production facility on hold to further expand its USDA-approved safe manufacturing procedures and monitoring systems," the company said in a statement issued Jan. 12. "Livingston maintenance employees will remain on the job; the remainder of plant employees will be called back when the plant resumes full operations."

Chicken production has shifted to other plants, while approximately one-third of the 3,500 employees have continued to work on maintenance. The company said earlier that no consumer products are affected.
President Ron Foster said when the voluntary closure began that the facility would not resume operations until they were confident “the most stringent and effective treatment protocols are in place.”