Morning Star Tomatoes, based in Woodland, California, has acquired a Del Monte Foods facility near Hanford, as confirmed by owner Chris Rufer to the Hanford Sentinel.
Morning Star, managing three factories in California, handles approximately 40% of the state's tomato output, contributing extensively to the U.S. food sector's tomato paste and sauce supply.
Del Monte had previously announced the closure of the 670,000-square-foot processing plant, impacting 378 employees, with plans to vacate by June.
Rufer indicated that Morning Star has no intention of utilizing the site for tomato processing due to a shift in canned tomato product demand among the 18-to-30-year-old demographic. The company aims to sell the property. "It would work for a food processing operation but it is set up to process tomatoes," Rufer stated.
Source: Produce Processing