Source:  MEATINGPLACE.COM, 9/17/10

Officials in the town of Timberville, Va., have asked state regulators for their help in eliminating pungent odors emanating from a Pilgrim’s Pride poultry processing plant.

The smells, described as “unbearable” by Town Manager Austin Garber, have lingered even after Pilgrim’s Pride in July installed $200,000 in technology and equipment intended to resolve the problem, according to an article in the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va.

Pilgrim’s Pride, in an e-mail to Meatingplace, said it has been working to find the source of the odors, which it has now traced to a malfunctioning dryer at its protein conversion facility. The dryer was inspected and thoroughly cleaned recently after it appeared that some material had become struck in the dryer and begun smoking, the company said.

“We take these concerns very seriously,” Pilgrim’s Pride spokesman Gary Rhodes wrote.
He said Pilgrim’s installed new equipment to address the odor concerns, is working with the dryer manufacturer to evaluate that equipment, and has contracted with an outside company to evaluate its scrubbing systems and train its employees.

Garber told the newspaper he was surprised the odors had not gone away after Pilgrim’s Pride installed the new technology over the summer. He contacted the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

A state environmental official said his agency would step up pressure on Pilgrim’s Pride to address the problem, according to the newspaper.

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