Cargill to expand egg processing facility in US

Global food company Cargill is planning to expand its egg processing facility located in Big Lake, Minnesota, US, in order to meet the growing demand for cooked egg products.

The $20m expansion will see an inclusion of capabilities to pasteurise, mix and cook a number of additional egg products for foodservice and protein ingredient customers.

Cargill Big Lake plant general manager Jared Johnson said: “This investment underscores our ongoing commitment to the Big Lake community and our employees, egg suppliers and restaurant and foodservice customers throughout the upper Midwest.”

With construction set to begin next month, Cargill noted that the new capabilities at the facility are expected to commence operations by January next year.

The facility expansion will also see the creation of nearly 12 employment opportunities and also double its annual requirement for eggs from family farms in the area to 170 million.

The expansion is reportedly part of two-year long $900m investment made by the company in order to improve its protein business in North America.

Johnson added: “Economies are improving. More people are moving into the middle class and the world population is expected to reach nine billion by 2050. These factors are driving significantly increased demand for animal protein around the world.

“Cargill’s protein team is prepared to play a critical role in meeting this demand and nourish the world with sustainable, high quality protein.”

In 2016, Cargill invested $27m in its egg production facility located in Lake Odessa, Michigan, and last year, the company expanded another egg production facility in Mason City, Iowa, with an investment of $12m.

The Big Lake facility, which was opened in 2001, also complements Cargill’s other egg processing facilities located in Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan.