Federal officials have shut down a New York poultry processing plant because of food safety issues.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture isn't releasing details about why it ordered Murray's Chicken to stop processing at its South Fallsburg plant in Sullivan County. A company official says its products are safe, but Murray's has been told to fix what he described as "facility issues."
While regulators allowed shipment of chicken packaged Monday, the plant was closed Tuesday. That idled about 350 workers who process 35,000 chickens a day at the plant.
The agriculture department had previously warned Murray's about concern over the aging plant's capacity to control contaminants like salmonella.
Murray's, which is marketed as "family farmed and naturally raised," is widely available in New York City grocery stores.
Steve Gold, Murray's vice president of sales and marketing, said the plant passed a test for salmonella on July 23.
