SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
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FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (D) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) August 22, 1997
Hudson Foods, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
DELAWARE 1-9050 71-0427616
(State of other jurisdiction (Commission (IRS Employer
of incorporation) File Number) Identification No.)
1225 Hudson Road, Rogers, Arkansas 72756
(Address of principal executive offices)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (501)636-1100
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
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Form 8-K
Item 5. Other events.
See attached press releases issued by Hudson Foods, Inc. on August 21, 1997.
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Analyst Contact: David Siemens Media Contact: Becky Triplett
Director of Investor Relations Read Scott-Martin
(501) 631-5123 Corporate Communications
(501) 636-1100
HUDSON FOODS TODAY ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT
ROGERS, Ark. -- (Aug. 21, 1997) --Hudson Foods, Inc. informed the U.S.
Department of Agriculture this morning that the company intended to suspend
operations at its Columbus, Nebraska, raw ground beef plant and that the company
would recall all products produced at the plant. The company said it was taking
the action out of an abundance of caution and to restore the public confidence.
Raw ground beef products produced at the Columbus plant are the only Hudson
Foods products involved in any way with the recent recall and with today's
suspension of operations at the Columbus plant.
Further comment from the company will be issued this afternoon. The statement
will be released through various outlets, including fax and U.S. Newswire, PR
Newswire, and through the Internet site: www.digitalrelease.com and enter the
keyword "Hudson" into the search engine on the home page.
<PAGE>
HUDSON FOODS VOLUNTARILY SUSPENDS PRODUCTION
AT COLUMBUS, NEBRASKA RAW GROUND BEEF PLANT
Rogers, Ark. -- (Aug. 21) --Hudson Foods, Inc. Chairman James T. Hudson today
issued this statement:
"Acting out of an abundance of caution, and to restore the public confidence,
today we are suspending production at our Columbus, Nebraska raw ground beef
plant and recalling all raw ground beef products processed at this plant.
All such products bear the establishment #13569."
"Ground beef products produced at the Columbus, Nebraska plant are the only
Hudson Foods products involved in any way with the recall of last week and
today. No other plants, facilities, or products of Hudson Foods, Inc. are
affected by the suspension, this recall, and other recalls."
"We are doing our best to cooperate fully with the U. S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) and will continue to do so. Hudson Foods strongly believes
that the source of any contamination is from outside suppliers and has not
originated inside the plant. This conclusion appears to be shared by the USDA.
This plant takes deboned raw meat from outside suppliers and processes it into
frozen raw beef patties and other raw ground beef products."
"Hudson Foods is a quality company, and this is clearly the best action to take
in the public's interest. During this period, Hudson Foods has reiterated its
full and complete cooperation with USDA inspectors to determine where the E.
coli contamination has occurred."
"We hope and believe this suspension will not last long. Suspending operations,
in fact, should help expedite the USDA investigation and the investigation that
Hudson Foods initiated last week. In the meantime, let me express my
appreciation for the deep loyalty and hard work of our employees at the Columbus
facility."
"The Columbus processing plant accounted for $91 million in sales during the
last fiscal year for Hudson Foods, or approximately 6.6 percent of the company's
total sales of $1.4 billion."
"The plant's reopening will be coordinated between USDA and Hudson Foods
officials," Hudson said. "Employees at the plant will still receive full pay
until a further decision concerning the plant is made. The plant employs
about 230 people."
This release and the company's financial information may be found at
www.hudsonfoods.com on the Internet, or by calling PR Newswire's Company News
On-Call fax service at 800-758-5804, ext. 111748. It also can be found on
www.digitalrelease.com and enter the keyword "Hudson" into the search engine on
the home page.
