Source:  Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 9/1/10

The fire Monday at Butterball’s Kinston, N.C., turkey processing plant damaged the entire facility and workers will be temporarily shifted to its Mount Olive, N.C., plant 30 miles away, the company announced.
A spokesoman told Meatingplace the facility had 45 workers and they will start working in Mount Olive on Monday.

Garner, N.C.-based Butterball is still assessing the structural damage to determine whether it will reopen the facility or relocate to a nearby building.

All employees were safely evacuated on Monday and there were no injuries, the company confirmed. A counselor for the company’s Employee Assistance Program has been engaged to assistance employees in dealing with the loss of the facility and the effects on them and their families.

Butterball is working with authorities to investigate the cause of the fire.

The plant produces bulk and prepackaged sliced turkey products, according to Butterball’s website. It is one of seven Butterball plants in the United States that collectively produce more than 1 billion pounds of turkey annually distributed to more than 30 countries.

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