Snokist Hits Hard Times, Files For Bankruptcy

In light of financial troubles and a fruit recall last year, Snokist Growers, one of Yakima's biggest agricultural business, was forced to file for reorganization with the U.S. government yesterday.

The recall stemmed from a small outbreak of food poisoning at a North Carolina school earlier this year; while the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found nothing wrong with Snokist's products, deficiencies were found at the plant. These findings caused two of Snokist biggest customers suspended their orders until the company resolved its problems.

After a five month delay by the FDA, Snokist suffered millions of dollars in lost sales, causing the company to seek protection through Chapter 11 reorganization filing. The board and management are concurrently in the process of exploring a number of different options for the potential sale, lease or operation of the facilities. Snokist Growers is actively seeking a positive solution to provide a home for growers to bring their fruit for future processing.