TreeHouse Foods Wins 2017 Food Quality & Safety Award

(Editor’s Note: For more information on the annual Food Quality & Safety Award, click HERE.)

In the TV show “Treehouse Masters” featured on Animal Planet network, one Pete Nelson, principal of Nelson Treehouse and Supply, and his talented crew create spectacular, jaw-dropping custom treehouses all around the county and the world. Nelson’s treehouses, all anchored on a solid, strong, specially selected tree, or sometimes group of trees, are nothing short of exemplary and inspiring dream house treehouses.

The research and development facility at E.D. Smith, Medina, Ontario.

Image credit: TreeHouse Foods

The same can be said about TreeHouse Foods, Inc., Oak Brook, Ill. So exemplary and inspiring are TreeHouse Foods’ quality and safety initiatives, the enterprise is being honored with a coveted 2017 Food Quality & Safety Award in the large business category.

TreeHouse, a publicly traded, globally-minded company, is best known for a myriad of food and beverages produced by its two largest businesses, the solid anchor Bay Valley Foods, LLC and a 2016 branching out acquisition, TreeHouse Private Brands (formerly the ConAgra Private Brands business).

Bay Valley Foods is one of the nation’s leading suppliers of pickles, salsa, peppers, relishes, aseptic sauces, powdered products, salad dressings, marinades, sauces, and jams/jellies/preserves/fruit spreads to major retail, food service, bulk, ingredient, and international customers. Bay Valley claims the distinction of being the nation’s number one packer of private label pickles for the retail market, the number one supplier of private label salad dressing, and the number one supplier of private label broths and stocks for the retail market.

TreeHouse Foods was established in 2005 by Sam Reed, E. Nichol McCully, David Vermylen, Harry Walsh, and Tom O’Neill, seasoned executives who previously served as the senior management of Keebler Foods Co. from 1996 through its sale to the Kellogg Company in 2001.

Under the solid oak strong leadership of these five company founders, in just 12 years TreeHouse Foods has grown as a seedling comprised of 11 plants spun off from the predecessor company Dean Foods to some 52 manufacturing facilities across the U.S., Canada, and Italy, according April Bishop, the firm’s senior director of food safety.

Serving retail grocery and food away from home customers across North America, TreeHouse operates under five divisions, Beverages, Baked Goods, Condiments, Snacks, and Meals.
With seven plants in the U.S. and Canada, the Beverages Division produces single serve beverages, including coffee and tea, plus drink mixes, non-dairy creamers, and smoothies.

The Baked Goods Division creates crackers, cookies, pretzels, candy, pita chips, refrigerated dough, frozen waffles, and in-store bakery at 17 U.S. and Canadian plants.

Cooking up dressings, dips, gravies, jams, mayonnaise, pickles, salsa, and sauces, the Condiments Division oversees 10 plants in the U.S. and Canada.

Producing snacks at the Robersonville, N.C. facility.
Image Credit: TreeHouse Foods

Operating five plants in the U.S., the Snacks Division is responsible for snack nuts, trail mixes, dried fruits and vegetables, and baking nuts.

The Meals Division, 13 facilities strong in the U.S., Canada, and Italy, makes dry dinners, macaroni and cheese, side dishes, hot and cold cereals, aseptic soups and broths, pie filling, and pudding.

It’s no surprise that TreeHouse, a leading supplier of shelf stable foods with a broad range of national and regional brands, bills itself as “one of the largest private label manufacturers in the world.”

Focus on Continuous Improvement

“We’re committed to continuous improvement, as demonstrated by our manufacturing expertise, innovative products, superior research and development, strong regional brands, and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and technology,” says Brian Perry, TreeHouse’s senior vice president of food safety and quality.