FOOD

Tyson to Sell Beef, Pork Units: Tyson Foods Inc. said it plans to sell its beef and pork processing operations to focus on its core chicken business. “Even though we had become very successful in niche markets with red meat products, we were not a major player in the sector as a whole, and could not become one without an enormous commitment of capital,” said Tyson CEO Leland Tollett. Tyson’s Gorges/Quik-to-Fix Foods operations, which makes ready-to-eat beef products, include four plants located in Harlingen and Garland, Texas, and Sioux Center and Orange City, Iowa. The plants employ about 1,200 people and last year had combined sales of more than $300 million. Its pork plant in Holland, Mich., has about 400 employees and had sales of about $80 million last year.