Ron Foster announced that he will step down as president and chief executive officer of Foster Farms, but will remain an owner and board member of the company.
Although the business grew 70 percent over the 11 years while Foster was at the helm, a Salmonella outbreak tied to raw chicken has plagued him for the past year and a half. Federal authorities said the outbreak sickened over 600 people, but they noted that the company carried out extensive measures to reduce future risk. The company was lauded for these efforts by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and in July, the city council of Livingston, CA, where Foster Farms is headquartered, presented Foster with a key to the city.