Minneapolis-based PURIS opened the largest pea protein plant in North America three years ago in Dawson, Minnesota. PURIS Corporate Development Manager Zach Hubert said China’s unfair trade practices have had a major impact. “We’ve actually had to idle our original facility in Turtle Lake Wisconsin and through that process, we had to lay off over 100 employees. We also had to close a facility in Oskaloosa, Iowa and lay off roughly 40 employees that were located there. That facility in Iowa supplied pea flour to that facility in Turtle Lake so unfortunately we’ve had meaningful disruptions to our team members and their families.” Pea protein is used as an ingredient in numerous food items, including plant-based meat, snack bars, and protein shakes.”There’s been over $1 billion of capital investment in pea protein in the last five years in North America and this ruling allows us to win business from customers who previously were getting products from China at below fair market value prices.”
