FLANDREAU, S.D. (AP) — A new plant north of Flandreau in eastern South Dakota says it will provide about 60 new jobs, and some special eggs.
The National Pasteurized Eggs facility that opened in April has a patented egg pasteurization process that officials say eliminates worries about salmonella poisoning. The company plans to process more than 240 million eggs each year.
A partner in the venture is Dakota Layers, a cooperative egg-laying farm founded by more than 120 families, mostly South Dakotans. About a million birds are in five buildings a few yards from the processing plant.
Donna Rosenbaum is executive director of Safe Tables Our Priority, a national nonprofit group that advocates for food safety. She toured the plant and says she's impressed with the technology and the planning that went into the operation.
National Pasteurized Eggs, based in Illinois, says about 142,000 Americans are infected with salmonella related to eggs every year. The firm operates a second plant in suburban Chicago.
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