Golden State Foods

Golden State Foods (GSF) is an Irvine, California-based wholly management-owned and -run[3] business-to-business[4] foodservice company that primarily serves McDonald's. Through a joint venture with Taylor Fresh Foods Inc.,[5][6]:213 GSF is one of the biggest and longest-serving suppliers to McDonald's restaurants,[7] including liquid products, and it's McDonald's third-largest beef supplier in the U.S. market.[8][9] The company manufacturers, supplies and delivers food to restaurants such as McDonald's, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, KFC and Taco Bell.[4]

Golden State Foods
TypePrivate
IndustryFood packaging, Agriculture, Food industry and Logistics
FoundedLos Angeles Area, California (1947)
HeadquartersIrvine, California
Key people
Mark S. Wetterau Chair/CEO
Productsfoods and beverages wholesale
Revenue $6.9 Billion USD (2017)[1]
Number of employees
6000 (2020)[2]
Websitewww.goldenstatefoods.com

History

The company was founded in 1947[1] by Bill (William) Moore and Frank Streeter and began as a small meat company to supply products to Los Angeles area restaurants and hotels. It is a 100% management-owned and -operated company.[1] In the early 1950s, it started providing meat products to McDonald's Corporation.[10]

On June 12, 1984, GSF employee Samuel Vasquez, 22 years old, was ground to death by a meat grinder in Golden State Foods' City of Industry, California facility when his coworker turned on the machine while he was inside.[11][12][13] The machine was able to turn on due to the failure of Golden State Foods to practice lockout–tagout procedures mandated by safety regulations.[14][15] Their practice was to clean with the machine running as it was slightly easier.[16] California OSHA and the Los Angeles County District Attorney filed a criminal charge against the company over this matter.[17][18][19] Golden State Foods pleaded no contest to the criminal charge.[12]

In 1998, GSF was acquired by Wetterau Associates, a St. Louis-based investment group led by the CEO Mark Wetterau and The Yucaipa Companies with the latter as the majority stakeholder.[3] At that time, GSF was valued at $1.4 billion.[4]

Chef Gold was launched in 2000 to produce liquid products, such as ketchup and mustard, and cooked meat products for a variety of customers. In the same year, GSF formed a self-serving subsidiary called Centralized Leasing Company (CLC) to provide GSF with leasing services. In 2002 Signature Services was launched to offer customized services such as store painting, lot striping, power washing and landscaping. In partnership with The Arthur Wells Group in St. Louis; GSF formed CFM Logistics to help clients with their freight distribution needs. By 2017, the company serviced approximately 25,000 restaurants.[1]

Prior to 2000, the entirety of GSF's revenue came from McDonald's. With the expansion of its customer base, by 2006, the company's dependency on McDonald's was reduced to 80%.[20] The vice president of distribution said in 2006 that they choose their new customers in such a way to avoid upsetting McDonald's.[20]

In 2004, Golden State Foods became a 100% management-owned and -operated company with the acquisition of 50.3% of the company that was owned by Yucaipa Companies.[3]

In 2006, Quality Custom Distribution was formed as a subsidiary of GSF and serves over 7,500 Starbucks locations. It also deliver supplies to customers such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and Chick-fil-A.[21]

In 2009, an employee was crushed and killed by a robotic palletizer at GSF's City of Industry Plant.[22][23][24] The company pleaded guilty to a felony violation of machinery lockout-tagout and fined $2 million.[25] Additionally, the company pleaded guilty to violating California Labor Code 6425 in January 2013 for "the willful violation of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations § 3314(h)".[26][27] The manager responsible was convicted of a misdemeanor and placed on a probation.[27]

In May 2012, a 60-foot truck operated by a GSF / Quality Custom Distribution (QCD) killed a bicyclist while making a right turn in downtown Portland, Oregon. The family and GSF settled a subsequent lawsuit on the eighth day of a civil trial, with GSF agreeing to give $700,000 to the family.[28]

In 2013, GSF sold its Rochester, New York distribution facility to another McDonald's supplier, Anderson-DuBose Co.[29]

In March 2019, GSF opened a 165,000-square-foot meat processing plant in Opelika, Alabama.[30]

In late 2019, GSF's QCD moved its headquarters to Frisco, Texas and acquired four warehouses in the Midwest and Northeast regions in February 2020, becoming Starbucks' top supplier[31] These four warehouses opened for business between March and September, 2020.[32]

On June 1, 2020, during a protest against police brutality in Portland, Maine, a tractor trailer driver for GSF's Quality Custom Distribution slowly drove into a crowd of protesters following a delivery.[33][34] The driver was arrested on a felony charge of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.[35][36][37]

In July 2020, GSF's City of Industry, California facility was closed by the health department after failing to report an outbreak of 43 cases of COVID-19 to the health department as required.[38] The facility reopened less than 24 hours later.[39]

Operations

GSF entered the baked goods business by forming a joint venture with Bryan, Texas-based Mid South Bakery. The baked products are distributed to customers in the Southeastern United States.

The company reports it exports products to more than 40 countries.[40] GSF's Australian group, supplies produce to KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. The company also owns a food processing and distribution center in Egypt, through which it provides processing and distribution services in the Middle East.

References
  1. "Golden State Foods on the Forbes Blockchain 50 List". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  2. "Golden State Foods CEO Talks COVID-19". Orange County Business Journal. 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  3. "Wetterau will control Golden State Foods". Refrigerated Transporter. July 4, 2004. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  4. "The $4 billion CEO you've never heard of". Orange County Register. 2010-04-25. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  5. Greenspan, Lorie (2008). Golden Opportunities. 4. Industry Today. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020.
  6. Hoover's handbook of private companies 2010. Hoover's, Inc. Austin, Tex.: Hoover's, Inc. 2010. ISBN 978-1-57311-137-9. OCLC 419862432.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. Salahieh, Nouran; Lyster, Lauren (2020-07-28). "3 food suppliers in L.A. County ordered to close after 'significant' coronavirus outbreaks not reported to health department". KTLA. Retrieved 2020-08-11. Golden State Foods Corp. is one of the largest and longest-serving suppliers to McDonald’s,
  8. Haberberg, Adrian; Rieple, Alison (2008). Strategic Management: Theory and Application. OUP Oxford. p. 134. ISBN 9780199216468. It is now the largest supplier of liquid products and third-largest beef supplier to McDonald's in the USA
  9. Today, Industry (2016-07-26). "Golden Opportunities". Industry Today. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  10. "Golden State Foods opens US meat site to serve McDonald's". FoodBev Media. 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  11. Los Angeles Times. June 13, 1984. p. 2 https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/400618711/. he slipped and fell into a heavy-duty meat grinder in the City of Industry. Samuel Vasquez, 22, died instantly in the whirling blades Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. Green, Stephen (September 25, 1988). "Proposition 97 would bring back Cal-OSHA". San Bernardino County Sun. p. 24. Vasquez was working inside a meat blender big enough to turn four or five sides of beef into hamburger at one time. He was cleaning the cutting blade, a circular ribbon of steel more than six feet long. Vasquez had just begun scrubbing when a co-worker, thinking the blender was empty, flipped a switch and turned it on. Vasquez's employer, Golden State Foods of Los Angeles, eventually pleaded no content to a criminal charge of violating a state job-safety standard.
  13. "Crushed in meat grinder". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. Jun 13, 1984. p. 1. Samuel Vasquez, 22, of West Covina was killed about 1 a.m. at the Golden State Foods Corp. plant, said Los Angeles County sheriffs Sgt. Steve Finley.
  14. California (State). California. Court of Appeal (2nd Appellate District). Records and Briefs: B021804, Petition for Writ.
  15. Subcommittee, United States Congress House Committee on Government Operations Employment and Housing (1988). Criminal penalties for OSHA violations: hearing before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, February 4, 1988. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 50. In Golden State Foods, an employee was literally ground up in a meat blender when he went in, as was part of their regular practice, to clean out meat stuck at the bottom.
  16. Subcommittee, United States Congress House Committee on Government Operations Employment and Housing (1988). Criminal penalties for OSHA violations: hearing before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, February 4, 1988. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 42.
  17. Gerrard, Michael B.; Foster, Sheila R. (2008). The Law of Environmental Justice: Theories and Procedures to Address Disproportionate Risks. American Bar Association. p. 764. ISBN 978-1-60442-083-8. People v. Golden State Foods, No. 31386211 (June 11, 1985) (prosecution for violation of California lockout requirements intended to prevent machine operation during cleaning, which resulted in death of an individual who was caught in a meat grinder).
  18. Reiner, Ira; Chatten-Brown, Jan (1989–1990). "When It Is Not an Accident, but a Crime: Prosecutors Get Tough with OSHA Violations". Northern Kentucky Law Review. 17: 83.
  19. Reiner, Ira; Chatten-Brown, Jan (1989-03-01). "Deterring Death in the Workplace: The Prosecutor's Perspective". Law, Medicine and Health Care. 17 (1): 23–31. doi:10.1111/j.1748-720X.1989.tb01068.x. ISSN 0277-8459. PMID 2770342. S2CID 27302009.
  20. Luna, Nancy (July 14, 2006). "Handshake sealed supplier's future". The Orange County Register. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  21. Ajamy, David (February 6, 2020). "Fresh off its HQ move to Frisco, this foodservice distribution company is growing". Dallas Business Journal. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  22. "Woman found dead in machine at SoCal food processor that supplies McDonald's". The Mercury News. Associated Press. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  23. "La Puente woman crushed by robot at McDonald's supplier in Industry". Los Angeles Daily News. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  24. "La Puente woman crushed by robot at McDonald's supplier in Industry". Pasadena Star News. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  25. Lacey, Jackie (2014). "Report to the People 2013-2014" (PDF). Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Golden State Foods was ordered to pay $2 million in fines, penalties and restitution after pleading guilty to a felony violation of machinery lockout regulations that resulted in the robotic crushing death of a female employee in 2009. The company was required to establish a $125,000 college trust fund for the victim’s young daughter.
  26. "GOLDEN STATE FOODS CORP. | No. CV 13-8150 RSWL... | 20140630978". Leagle. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  27. Schmidt, Nathan (February 2, 2017). "Cal/OSHA Advisory Committee Meeting February 2, 2017 – 10:00 a.m.Oakland and Santa Ana, California" (PDF). Cal-OSHA. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2020. Golden State Foods Corp was a case where a machine operator was fatally crushed by a robotic palletizer. Golden State Foods pled guilty to one criminal violation under Labor Code 6425, and they were required to make equipment safe, pay a $250,000 restitution, and a fine of $450,000 The responsible manager was convicted of a misdemeanor and was placed on a one-year probation with a requirement to pay the victim’s family $10,000.
  28. Green, Aimee (2014-02-27). "Parents of deceased cyclist Kathryn Rickson settle with truck driver's employer for $700,000". oregonlive. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  29. Yu, Jane (June 4, 2013). "Golden State Foods Sells NY Distribution Center".
  30. Thornton, William (2018-07-27). "Golden State Foods opens Opelika plant". al. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  31. "Chances increase your Starbucks was stocked by this company". Orange County Register. 2020-02-04. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  32. Shaffer, Erica. "Golden State Foods subsidiary opens four distribution centers". meatpoultry.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  33. Oatley, Stephen (2020-06-03). "Trucker arrested, charged with a felony after trying to 'inch a large truck' through a group of protesters in Portland ME". PT News Network. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  34. Schroeder, Nick (2020-06-02). "Portland police report 23 arrests, several vandalism cases from Monday protest". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  35. MacNeill, Arianna (June 2, 2020). "Multiple New England cities contend with violence, looting after protests". Boston.com. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  36. WGME (2020-06-02). "23 arrested after peaceful Portland protest takes a turn". WGME. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  37. "Multiple Businesses Damaged and Twenty-Three Arrested". City of Portland, ME. June 2, 2020. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  38. Cosgrove, Jaclyn; Lau, Maya (2020-07-29). "L.A. County shuts down three food businesses over unreported COVID-19 outbreaks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  39. Sweeney, Don (28 July 2020). "Unreported COVID-19 outbreaks force 3 California food suppliers to shut, officials say". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 23 October 2020. Health officials allowed the company’s plant to reopen within 24 hours once it updated its reports.
  40. https://goldenstatefoods.com/about-us/global-presence/
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