Golden State Foods(GSF) is a US wholly management-owned and -run[3]business-to-business[4]company that serves quick service restaurants, including McDonald’s, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell, KFC and Wendy's.[4][5]Through a joint venture withTaylor Fresh FoodsInc.,[6][7]: 213 GSF is one of the biggest and longest-serving suppliers toMcDonald'srestaurants,[8]including liquid products, and it is McDonald's third-largest beef supplier in the U.S. market.[9][10]

Golden State Foods
Company typePrivate
IndustryFood packaging,Agriculture,Food industryandLogistics
FoundedLos AngelesArea, California (1947)
HeadquartersIrvine, California
Key people
Brian Dick (President/CEO)[1]
Productsfoodsandbeverageswholesale
Revenue$5.1 billionUSD(2022 estimate)[2]
Number of employees
over 6000 (2024)[2]
Websitewww.goldenstatefoods.com

History

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1947-1999

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The company was founded in 1947[11]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.[11]In the early 1950s, it started providing meat products to McDonald's Corporation.[12]

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, Californiafacility when his coworker turned on the machine while he was inside.[13][14][15]The machine was able to turn on due to the failure of Golden State Foods to practicelockout–tagoutprocedures mandated by safety regulations.[16][17]Their practice was to clean with the machine running as it was slightly easier.[18]California OSHA and theLos Angeles County District Attorneyfiled a criminal charge against the company over this matter.[19][20][21]Golden State Foods pleaded no contest to the criminal charge.[14]

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

2000-2011

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Chef Gold was launched in 2000 to produce liquid products, such asketchupandmustard,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 withleasingservices. In 2002 Signature Services was launched to offer customized services such as store painting,lot striping,power washingand landscaping. In partnership with The Arthur Wells Group inSt. Louis;GSF formed CFM Logistics to help clients with their freight distribution needs. By 2017, the company serviced approximately 25,000 restaurants.[11]

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%.[22]The vice president of distribution said in 2006 that they choose their new customers in such a way to avoid upsetting McDonald's.[22]

GSF established the GSF Foundation, a nonprofit organization, in 2002 to provide support to children and families in need through volunteering and donations.[23]

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]

Four GSF distribution centers received awards for food safety in 2004.[24]

In 2006, Quality Custom Distribution (QCD) was formed as a subsidiary of GSF. As of February 2020, QCD delivered supplies to over 7,500 stores, includingStarbucks,Chipotle Mexican GrillandChick-fil-A.[25]

In 2009, an employee was crushed and killed by a roboticpalletizerat GSF's City of Industry Plant.[26][27][28]The company pleaded guilty to a felony violation of machinery lockout-tagout and fined $2 million.[29]Additionally, the company pleaded guilty to violatingCalifornia Labor Code6425 in January 2013 for "the willful violation of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations § 3314(h)".[30][31]The manager responsible was convicted of a misdemeanor and placed on probation.[31]

2012-present

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In May 2012, a 60-foot truck operated by Dawayne Eacret employed by GSF / Quality Custom Distribution (QCD) killed a bicyclist Kathryn Rickson while making a right turn in downtownPortland, 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.[32]

In November 2012, GSF acquired KanPak China, a manufacturing company for customers in the quick-service restaurant industry.[33][34]GSF then acquired KanPak U.S. the next year.[35][36]In 2013, GSF sold itsRochester, New Yorkdistribution facility to another McDonald's supplier, Anderson-DuBose Co.[37]

A company recalled retail packaged walnuts intended to be sold inKansas City, Kansassupplied by Golden State Foods when they tested positive for listeria in 2014 in aFDAsampling.[38]

GSF's QCD subsidiary acquired restaurant supplier Mile Hi Specialty Foods, which served approximately 1,000 stores.[39]in November 2016.[40]GSF formed QCD Rocky Mountain LLC to run the unit.[39]QCD opened a new facility inFontana, California,dedicated to servicing Starbucks stores in July 2018.[41]In March 2019, GSF opened a 165,000-square-foot meat processing plant inOpelika, Alabama.[42]Forbesnamed GSF in its "Blockchain50 "list in April 2019 for its tracking of food safety data across its supply chain.[43][44]QCD opened a distribution center, inSalt Lake City,in June 2019.[45]

In late 2019, GSF's QCD moved its headquarters toFrisco, Texasand acquired four warehouses in the Midwest and Northeast regions in February 2020, becoming Starbucks' top supplier[46]These four warehouses opened for business between March and September, 2020.[47]

On June 1, 2020, during a protest against police brutality inPortland, Maine,a tractor trailer driver for GSF's Quality Custom Distribution slowly drove into a crowd of protesters following a delivery.[48][49]The driver was arrested on a felony charge of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.[50][51][52]

In July 2020, GSF'sCity of Industry, Californiafacility was closed by the health department after failing to report an outbreak of 43 cases ofCOVID-19to the health department as required.[53]The facility reopened less than 24 hours later.[54]

In June 2023, Brian Dick became the president/COO to replace former CEO Mark Wetterau who died in May 2023.[55]Wetterau was the CEO for 25 years.[56]In July 2024, Dick was promoted to president and CEO.[1]

As of August 2024, the company was in the process of selling a controlling interest to theLindsay Goldbergprivate equity firm, pending regulatory approval.[2]

In August 2024, it was reported that the company's QCD division planned to close a facility by November 2024 and terminate 54 employees inSchertz, Texas[57]

Operations

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GSF has five core sectors of business: protein products, like hamburgers; liquid products, like salad dressings; dairy, like ice cream; fresh produce; and logistics. As a supplier of McDonald's, GSF helped create the recipe forBig Macsauce, among others.[58]The company exports products to more than 50 countries.[59]The company also owns locations in China.[58]

References

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  2. ^abc"Irvine-based Golden State Foods sells majority stake to private equity firm".Daily News.2024-08-10.Retrieved2024-10-25.
  3. ^abc"Wetterau will control Golden State Foods".Refrigerated Transporter.July 4, 2004.Retrieved2020-10-19.
  4. ^abc"The $4 billion CEO you've never heard of".Orange County Register.2010-04-25.Retrieved2020-10-23.
  5. ^Loyd, Rich (22 May 2023)."GSF's Mark Wetterau Leaves Legacy of Integrity, Generosity".Orange County Business Journal.Retrieved9 September2024.
  6. ^Greenspan, Lorie (2008).Golden Opportunities.Vol. 4. Industry Today. Archived fromthe originalon October 19, 2020.
  7. ^Hoover's handbook of private companies 2010.Austin, Tex.: Hoover's, Inc. 2010.ISBN978-1-57311-137-9.OCLC419862432.
  8. ^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.Retrieved2020-08-11.Golden State Foods Corp. is one of the largest and longest-serving suppliers to McDonald's,
  9. ^Haberberg, Adrian; Rieple, Alison (2008).Strategic Management: Theory and Application.OUP Oxford. p. 134.ISBN9780199216468.It is now the largest supplier of liquid products and third-largest beef supplier to McDonald's in the USA
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  13. ^"The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California on June 13, 1984 · 2".Los Angeles Times.June 13, 1984. p. 2.he slipped and fell into a heavy-duty meat grinder in the City of Industry. Samuel Vasquez, 22, died instantly in the whirling blades
  14. ^abGreen, 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.
  15. ^"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.
  16. ^California. Court of Appeal (2nd Appellate District). Records and Briefs: B021804, Petition for Writ.
  17. ^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, United States Congress House Committee on Government Operations Employment and Housing Subcommittee. 1988. 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.
  18. ^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, United States Congress House Committee on Government Operations Employment and Housing Subcommittee. 1988. p. 42.
  19. ^Gerrard, Michael B.; Foster, Sheila R. (2008).The Law of Environmental Justice: Theories and Procedures to Address Disproportionate Risks.American Bar Association. p. 764.ISBN978-1-60442-083-8.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).
  20. ^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.
  21. ^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.ISSN0277-8459.PMID2770342.S2CID27302009.
  22. ^abLuna, Nancy (July 14, 2006)."Handshake sealed supplier's future".The Orange County Register.RetrievedAugust 21,2020.
  23. ^"QCD meals support needy kids".The Suffolk News-Herald.2013-08-02.Retrieved2021-07-30.
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  29. ^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.
  30. ^"GOLDEN STATE FOODS CORP. | No. CV 13-8150 RSWL... | 20140630978".Leagle.Retrieved2020-10-23.
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  32. ^Green, Aimee (2014-02-27)."Parents of deceased cyclist Kathryn Rickson settle with truck driver's employer for $700,000".oregonlive.Retrieved2020-08-11.
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  41. ^"Quality Custom Distribution announces grand opening of new location in Fontana, bringing 100 new jobs to local area".Fontana Herald News.16 July 2018.Retrieved6 March2021.
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  49. ^Schroeder, Nick (2020-06-02)."Portland police report 23 arrests, several vandalism cases from Monday protest".Bangor Daily News.Retrieved2020-08-12.
  50. ^MacNeill, Arianna (June 2, 2020)."Multiple New England cities contend with violence, looting after protests".Boston.com.Retrieved2020-08-12.
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  53. ^Cosgrove, Jaclyn; Lau, Maya (2020-07-29)."L.A. County shuts down three food businesses over unreported COVID-19 outbreaks".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2020-08-11.
  54. ^Sweeney, Don (28 July 2020)."Unreported COVID-19 outbreaks force 3 California food suppliers to shut, officials say".The Sacramento Bee.Retrieved23 October2020.Health officials allowed the company's plant to reopen within 24 hours once it updated its reports.
  55. ^"Status Update: Golden State Foods names new president after death of CEO".Orange County Register.2023-06-12.Retrieved2023-07-08.
  56. ^Fusaro, Dave (May 11, 2023)."Mark Wetterau, Chairman and CEO of Golden State Foods, Dies".Food Processing.
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