BPI (Beef Products, Inc.), Dakota Dunes, S.D., announced a corporate name change to empirical foods, and re-named its additional companies to empirical technology and empirical innovations.

Smithfield Foods, Inc., Smithfield, Va., announced plans to open a new distribution center in Cecil County, Md.

Smithfield Foods, Inc., Smithfield, Va., introduced Smithfield Culinary, the company’s new foodservice portfolio.

Tyson Fresh Meats, the Dakota Dunes, S.D.-based beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods, Inc., collaborated with IdentiGEN, Lawrence, Kan., to use DNA technology to trace beef back to the individual animal of origin.

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc., Ridgefield, Conn., acquired Bassian Farms, Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based specialty protein manufacturer and distributor.

Private equity firm Mason Wells, Milwaukee, Wis., sold Eddy Foods, Inc. (also known as Eddy Packing), Yoakum, Texas, to Insight Equity III LP, Southlake, Texas.

In September 2018, Wolverine asked the food team from Linde LLC, Bridgewater, N.J., to investigate a chilling-related packaging issue. By December 2018, Wolverine not only had a solution, but also one that yielded multiple advantages.

Buzz Foods, Charleston, W.V., announced an economic development project to begin in the Kanawha Valley in West Virginia.

Tender Belly LLC, Denver, Colo., received an investment from Encore Consumer Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, to grow its premium bacon and pork product line.

The National Pork Board, Des Moines, Iowa, released the first report from its Insight to Action research program.