The Keystone Foods Story
It all started in Philadelphia with a small family-owned beef business. It all changed with one man’s big ideas and innovative spirit. In the 1960's, Herb Lotman, sought to freeze beef patties in a way that would keep their taste and texture. This led him to the Individual Quick Freezing process. He introduced the IQF hamburger patty to McDonald’s, which is still used today in our burgers.
On the strength of this contract, Herb went from small family-owned beef businessman to founder of Keystone Foods. Today it’s one of the world's biggest food companies, making and delivering food products to 13 countries in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. The IQF method Herb developed is still in use worldwide.
Keystone proved to be true innovators yet again in the early 1970's when they teamed up with McDonald's to develop a total distribution concept. Everything needed to run a McDonald's restaurant was provided in one customized delivery, enabling restaurant managers to save time and focus on customer service.
A few years later, McDonald’s in partnership with Keystone developed Chicken McNuggets®, which revolutionized the way Americans ate chicken. Almost overnight, a huge demand for boneless chicken meat was created.
Today, Keystone's US operations are proud to produce and deliver the highest quality beef, chicken and fish products to McDonald’s, including more than 150 million pounds of beef, 300 million pounds of chicken and 15 million pounds of fish each year. They go above and beyond USDA regulations to meet McDonald's strict animal welfare, product safety and quality requirements.
And of course, Keystone is proud to continue to innovate and partner with McDonald's as "one of the greatest restaurant success stories in history."
