Empire Kosher Poultry, Inc.

Empire Kosher Poultry, Inc. operates at 247 Empire Drive in Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, under FSIS establishment numbers M1015, P1015 and V1015. The federal record lists poultry slaughter, poultry processing, meat processing and export certification activities, with poultry as the species slaughtered under inspection. FSIS classifies the plant in its large size category and places it in slaughter volume category 5.0, the highest volume tier shown in the directory. The grant of inspection date on file is October 28, 2021. The establishment also reports doing business under a number of other names, including Alie, Alle, BluCut, Empire Kosher, Galil, Grossman'a Kosher, Kosher Valley and Trafe Poultry.

according to its website, the company traces its start to 1938, when Joseph N. Katz began the business in a garage in Liberty, New York, and named it after the Empire State. The company says it relocated to Mifflintown in the early 1960s when Katz purchased a small processing plant in Juniata County, and it describes itself as the largest kosher poultry producer in the United States. The site states that a fire in January 1986 destroyed more than 80 percent of the facilities and inventory, after which operations moved temporarily to a satellite facility about 40 miles away before rebuilding in Mifflintown.

The website describes an integrated operation in which the company hatches, grows, processes, packages and ships its own products, and says each chicken and turkey is inspected by its rabbis for kashrut. Product lines named include kosher chicken, turkey and, since 2024, beef products. Historic product introductions cited by the company include New York Dressed kosher chicken in 1941, vacuum wrapped poultry in 1947, cut up chicken in retail boxes in 1955, fully cooked chicken and turkey in the 1970s, ready to eat delicatessen products in 1972, turkey and chicken frankfurters, and soups in 1978. No custom-exempt activity is reported to FSIS, and the sources do not describe a retail store, farm drop-off, or custom slaughter service at the plant.

The company describes kosher chicken, turkey and beef products sold through grocery and supermarket channels, and its website lists a products section and recipes. It also states that historic retail box and vacuum wrapped formats were developed so consumers without a local kosher butcher could buy its poultry in mainstream grocery stores. The sources do not state that the Mifflintown plant operates a retail counter, sells halves or quarters, or ships direct to households. Consumer questions are directed to 1-800-367-4734 or an online contact form.

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.