Foster Farms carves a niche with organic turkeys

Organic-food fans can give thanks for a second straight year over turkeys from Foster Farms.

The company last year launched an organic line that includes whole and ground turkey, along with several chicken items.

Foster Farms, which processes its turkey in Turlock, has tapped into an organic market that has been growing fast. It and other producers around the nation raised about $70 million worth of these birds last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The total was about $28 million in 2008.

“There are people who really want to know what they are eating, where it comes from,” turkey marketing manager Patrick Sai said Thursday from Foster Farms headquarters in Livingston.

The USDA’s organic standards allow no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides to grow the corn and soy that make up poultry feed. The turkeys must have access to the outdoors from the large buildings where they are raised. Non-organic housing is sealed tight but allows plenty of movement on the floor.

Organic turkey can cost shoppers twice as much as conventional, Sai said, but the line nonetheless is growing. Detailed sales figures were not available, but Foster Farms already was the top poultry brand in the West and quickly became a major player in organic poultry.

Foster Farms is selling frozen organic turkeys year-round and fresh ones for Thanksgiving and Christmas, Sai said.

The arrival of peak season prompted the company to remind home chefs about safe handling and cooking. The basics: Thoroughly wash hands and anything else that makes contact with the raw turkey, and cook it to an internal temperature of 180 degrees. More information on this, and on how to carve that perfectly roasted centerpiece, is at www.fosterfarms.com.

California dominates the organic turkey market, with about 70 percent of the sales. The producers here also include Diestel Turkey Ranch near Sonora, featured in a Modesto Bee story Wednesday.

Despite its recent growth, organic turkey accounted for just 1.2 percent of the $5.7 billion worth of turkeys raised in the United States last year. North Carolina led the way in the overall industry. California was ninth.

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Foster Farms carves a niche with organic turkeys."