Koch Foods of Gadsden, LLC

Koch Foods of Gadsden, LLC operates at 501 Paden Road in Gadsden, Alabama, in Etowah County, under USDA FSIS establishment number P6666. The federal record lists the plant for poultry slaughter and poultry processing, with poultry as the species slaughtered under inspection. FSIS classifies the establishment in its large size class and places it in slaughter volume category 5.0, the highest of the reported bands, well above the smallest category of under 1,000 head per year. The grant of inspection date on file is June 25, 2021. No custom-exempt activity is reported to FSIS.

The plant is part of Koch Foods, described on the company website as a privately held, U.S.-based vertically integrated poultry company with more than 13,000 employees and locations in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee. Corporate headquarters are in Park Ridge, Illinois. The company states that live operations, including feedmills, hatcheries, breeders and broilers, are based in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, and that birds are raised by independent growers. The company says it is not affiliated with Koch Industries or the Koch brothers.

Koch Foods describes itself as a multichannel supplier to foodservice, consumer products and export channels, with product reaching national restaurant chains, convenience stores, schools, hospitals and grocery stores. Retail brands named are Koch Foods, Cravers Chicken, Oven Cravers and Antioch Farms. Site-specific details for the Gadsden location, including hours, retail sales, and any arrangements for outside livestock or poultry owners, are not stated in the sources on file and go beyond the federal record.

The federal record reports no custom-exempt activity at this establishment, and the sources do not describe drop-off slaughter, booking, minimums, kill fees, or cut and wrap for animals brought by an individual farmer. Koch Foods describes itself as vertically integrated, with birds raised by independent contract growers and company-manufactured feed, so the company's grower relationship is a contract production arrangement rather than fee-for-service processing. Farmers seeking custom or small-lot poultry processing should contact the plant directly, as those services are not stated in the sources on file.

Koch Foods of Gadsden, LLC operates under a federal grant of inspection, so product from this plant can be sold anywhere in the United States, which matters if you sell online or across a state line. FSIS does not list a custom-exempt activity for this plant.

No retail counter, farm store, halves and quarters, bundles, delivery, shipping, or online ordering is described for the Gadsden plant in the sources on file. Koch Foods states that consumers can find its chicken in grocery stores under the Koch Foods, Cravers Chicken and Antioch Farms brand names, and directs shoppers to a store locator on its products pages. Fully cooked frozen retail items listed include chicken nuggets and crispy, grilled and buffalo style chicken breast strips.

If you are buying a half or quarter animal, the plant is where the animal is processed; the farm sells you the animal. Read how to buy a half cow for the sequence and the math.