Category Archives: Food Industry

Food manufacturing, processing, and cold storage. Seafood, produce, poultry, beef/poultry, meals/meal kits, and food ingredients intended for grocery stores, restaurants, institutions, and consumers. Facilities with freezers, coolers, USDA processing areas, bakeries, floor drains, food safety testing labs, and wastewater interceptors.

Food Industry

New Meat Processing Facility at Cal Poly

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The J and G Lau Family Meat Processing Center is a state-of-the-art facility located on the Cal Poly campus in the heart of one of the most beautiful cities in California – San Luis Obispo. From harvesting to packaging, this over 13,500 sq. foot center will enable all stages of meat processing in the safest possible environment. Beyond the ordinary classroom, students will experience their education in this state-of-the-art Meat Processing Center that is as technologically advanced as the professional world they will enter. Intended as a space where the lines are blurred between industry and education, the Meat Processing Center will allow companies to utilize test kitchens for product development alongside Cal Poly students and faculty. With this kind of vision, Cal Poly graduates will enter their professions as leaders, innovators and experienced problem solvers.

With the meat industry constantly emerging, such an advanced facility is vital to preparing our future leaders. This is your opportunity to contribute to one of the finest meat processing centers and help guarantee a place where past principles and modern ideas will join forces to improve education and raise the bar of meat industry standards.

Food Industry

Los Angeles Downtown Industrial District

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The Los Angeles Downtown Industrial District (LADID) covers 44 blocks, a district with boundaries roughly between Third (on the north) and Eighth and Olympic (on the south), San Pedro (on the west) and Alameda (on the east) Streets. Established as a Business Improvement District (BID), this manufacturing and wholesale District is comprised of mostly seafood, fresh and frozen produce, cold storage and other food related services.  Over 600 properties lie within the LADID boundaries. It encompasses a 36 block district between Fourth (on the north) and Eighth (on the south) Streets, San Pedro (on the west) and Alameda (on the east) Streets.

The District is the hub of the food chain in Southern California and hosts the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market, which has 550,000 sq. ft. on 30 acres. It is the second largest produce market in the United States generating annual revenues of $2 billion.  The historic Fisherman’s Outlet is just one of several great restaurants that attract thousands of customers daily.  Dozens of garment and printing businesses also thrive in the district.

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Food Industry

Top Meat Companies

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Of the top 100 nationwide meat companies in terms of sales, the following are from California: Harris Ranch Beef Co; Superior Farms; United Food Group; Bridgford Foods; King Meats Inc; Central Valley Meat Co; White Apron Meats; Don Miguel Mexican Foods Inc; Custom Food Products Inc; and First Class Foods Inc.

These companies deal in bacon, deli meat, fresh and frozen beef, ground beef, ham, hot dogs, pork, prepared foods and sausage.  Also noteworthy, the following food companies are largest in the respective category.  Oscar mayer – bacon, hot dogs and deli meat.  Stouffer’s – prepared dinners.  Johnsonville – breakfast sausage. Hormel Black Label – ham.

Other highlights.  Consumers continued to gravitate towards kosher dogs such as Hebrew National.  Most ground beef goes to burgers.  Japan is the #1 buyer of American pork.

Food Industry

California Food Processing Industry

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Introduction California is the top agricultural state in the nation, a position it has held for 50 years. As a natural result, California is also the largest food processing employer in the United States. With an enormous variety of crops, great growing conditions and increasing demand for prepared food products, California is the center for food processing, shipping $50 billion worth of food products.

Definition Food processing is an umbrella term used to describe all the activities of manufacturing food and beverages for human consumption, as well as prepared feeds for animals. California processing includes fruits and vegetables, baked goods, meats, dairy products, sugar and confections, beverages, and fats and oils. The industry is defined as food and kindred products by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code 20.

Size and Location Food processing firms in California are as widely spread across the state as the farmlands that supply them. Food manufacturers purchase most of their perishable raw materials from area growers, ensuring the ultimate in freshness. California is the top producing state for many fruit and vegetable crops, providing the basis for myriad fresh, canned and frozen products. Correspondingly, preserved fruits and vegetables is the largest industry group in California food processing, providing a quarter of the state’s food processing jobs. Beverage manufacturing provides 19 percent of the food processing employment in California, led by the high value-added wine production. Bakery products in California provide 13 percent of the state’s employment in the manufacture of those products. California also has above-average representation in canned and cured seafood processing located in the coastal counties, and pasta production in Los Angeles, Orange and Alameda counties. 

Economic Importance California produces a wide variety of food products and is the leading state in many food categories. California surpasses Wisconsin in milk production. California is the only producing state of such specialty foods as almonds, artichokes, raisins, prunes, olives, dates, figs and pistachios. California food processing employed 183,300 people in 1999, composing 11 percent of the nation’s total.