Foster Farms acquires Crystal Cream & Butter Co.

Foster Farms Dairy will soon begin producing Crystal milk products such as cottage cheese and sour cream out of its processing plant on Kansas Avenue in Modesto.

Modesto-based Foster Farms announced Monday that it had bought Crystal Cream & Butter Company’s conventional dairy business from HP Hood LLC, based in Massachusetts.

As a result, the Modesto production center will add 35 jobs, and about a half-million gallons of milk per week. The acquisition will also bring 55 drivers from Crystal’s Sacramento operations, 30 employees at distribution facilities and 70 trucks to Foster Farms Dairy’s distribution fleet.

Foster Farms will continue to sell products under the Crystal name at stores and other outlets across Northern California.

Crystal, which began in 1901 in Sacramento, had a well-known milk processing plant for decades, before the company sold itself to HP Hood LLC in May.