Hello guys, and welcome to our channel.
In this video, we are going talk about chicken harvesting, and processing technology.
it is usual practice for a percentage of chickens to be harvested for processing on several
occasions.
This practice is referred to as ‘thinning out’ sometimes as ‘partial depopulation’,
or ‘multiple pick-up’, and may be done up to five times, depending on the chicken
company’s market requirements for different sized chickens.
Thinning out barns allows more space for the remaining birds, and helps with the management
of optimal barn temperatures, and air, and litter quality.
The first harvest might occur as early as 30-35 days, and the last at 55-65 days.
Chickens are often harvested at night as it is cooler, and the birds are more settled.
They are generally picked up by specialized contract ‘pick-up’ crews under low lighting
conditions so that they are calm, and easy to handle.
They are usually caught by hand, and placed into plastic crates or aluminum modules designed
for good ventilation, and protection from bruising during transport.
In some cases, chickens are collected by a specially designed machine that uses a series
of conveyor belts to move birds from the barn floor, and deposits them into crates or modules.
Irrespective of whether caught manually or mechanically, the crates or modules they are
collected into are then handled by forklift equipment, and loaded onto trucks for transport
to the processing plant.
First, the birds are stunned.
Stunning is the process of rendering animals’ unconscious before slaughtering them for food.
The stunning renders the birds insensitive to pain.
Most commercial poultry slaughter facilities render chickens’ unconscious (stunning)
prior to slaughter through the use of low voltage electrical current or controlled atmosphere
stunning.
Not surprisingly, the stunning of chickens has been the subject of considerable research
and discussion.
Many wonder whether stunning is humane, if there are alternative methods of stunning
and if there are any safeguards in place to ensure that chickens are not slaughtered while
conscious.
After the birds are stunned, they are hanged upside down on shackles by hand.
Dead Upon Arrivals (DOA’s) or birds with other significant quality issues are removed
from the production process.
At this stage, the birds are counted per flock, and then send to the killing process.
In the killing process the birds can be killed with different cuts.
Whenever a cut is unsuccessful, the bird is manually cut afterwards.
Since the birds hang upside down, they bleed out through their neck for some minutes.
Blood is a by-product, and sold as bulk.
After the bird is killed the blood circulation stops, this will start up chemical reactions
that affect the quality of the meat, and organs.
Thus, the faster the bird is processed, the better.
Technology makes slaughter extremely quick to minimize discomfort.
While making a single cut to the throat of an unconscious bird is largely effective,
should the blade miss for any reason, trained workers stand by to quickly euthanize remaining
birds.
Proper maintenance of equipment, and this back-up “human” system is key to a fast,
and humane slaughter process.
After the birds bled out, they enter the scalding process.
Several baths of hot water will macerate and clean the bird’s skin.
Proper agitation of the scald water (through the use of water pumps or addition of air
pumped into the scald tank) ensures efficient wetting of the feathers.
Multi-tank, counter-current flow scalders are very effective in the removal of dirt,
and organic matter from the carcass, and ensures carcasses are progressively exposed to cleaner
water.
This practice is important in preventing cross-contamination.
The rate of water flow should also be high (minimum of 1-2 liters per bird) to reduce
organic build-up in the scalder tanks.
The use of pre-scald washers, and scrubbers has been effective in removing adhering faucal
material on pelvic, and pectoral feathers, and preventing the faucal material that is
typically expelled post-mortem from entering the scalders.
De-feathering.
After scalding, the birds immediately enter the de-feathering machines in which rotating
disks with rubber fingers remove the feathers from the carcass.
However, if the rubber fingers are not maintained in the de-feathering machines, improper feather
removal, and damage to the carcass can occur (broken wings, skin, and muscle tears, and
carcass bruising).
Any damaged, worn, broken, and missing rubber fingers in the de-feathering machines should
be replaced daily to assure a proper “break-in” period, and that carcass damage does not occur.
Multiple de-feathering machines (usually 3-6) are used to target, and remove feathers in
different parts of the carcass.
After feathers are removed, the birds are sent to an “eviscerating” line which removes
internal organs, and feet, also known as “paws.”
Every single part of the bird is used —for example, chicken feet are considered a delicacy
in Asian countries, and feathers are rendered, and used as protein in some animal feed.
Modern chicken evisceration machines are design to reduce labor, and improve quality.
Depending on processing speeds, and labor costs, various options exist: these include
the automatic transfer of chicken from the defeathering line to the evisceration line
as well as the transfer off the evisceration line to the chill line.
Automatic evisceration equipment is generally considered for line speeds above 1,500 birds
per hour depending upon labor costs.
An evisceration line comprises of several machines, each performing a specific operation.
Evisceration is one of the most critical points for preventing carcass contamination during
processing.
If the broilers have not had long enough to empty their digestive tract before processing,
and if there is viscera damage during evisceration, then the likelihood of carcasses contamination
with the contents of the digestive tract is increased.
Each step of evisceration, from the opening of the abdomen to viscera, and crop removal,
is critical, and must be monitored continuously.
Timely equipment maintenance, and adjustments are extremely important to reduce, and or
eliminate visible contamination.
Carcass washers (using chlorine where allowed), strategically placed in points of likely contamination,
are beneficial in terms of prompt removal of contamination.
The harvesting of giblets (heart, liver, gizzard, and necks) is done following evisceration
through either manual or automatic processes.
Harvesting is again a critical area of contamination, and cross-contamination that requires constant
oversight.
The extent of bacterial load on the final product is an extremely important parameter,
in addition to continuous maintenance of the cold chain, in determining the shelf life
of fresh poultry.
Next, the head, and feet are removed, and processed as waste or bulk (such as skin,
and paws).
Then, the organs and other viscera are removed in the evisceration process as well as the
neck, and neck skin.
Most of it is sold as bulk.
The last process step is chilling, and maturation that takes around 2.5 hours.
At the first stage the broilers are cooled down extremely fast to stop any growth of
micro-organs.
The two most common methods of carcass chilling are water immersion and air chilling.
Immersion chilling involves placing carcasses into a counter flow water system at 0-1°C
for 1.5 to 3 hours, depending on carcass weight.
The aim is to reduce the deep muscle temperature to less than 4°C to inhibit the growth of
microorganisms.
Where chlorine is allowed to be used, one of the key issues in water immersion chilling
is to maintain a free chlorine level of about 5 ppm to reduce the likelihood of cross-contamination.
In areas where chlorine is allowed to be used, chlorine is more effective at or near a water
pH of 6.5.
Organic acids are commonly used to acidify the water to enhance chlorine effectiveness.
Air chilling systems are growing in popularity, partly because there is less water uptake
of the carcass than with immersion chilling, and the potential for cross contamination
is reduced.
Air chilling systems are characterized by chilling carcasses in environmentally controlled
rooms with forced cold air.
Because the rate of heat transfer is much slower with air than in water, it takes much
longer to air chill.
Recently, carcass chilling systems involving both water, and air chilling have become available
Then, the chilling process is slower to speed up the breakdown of protein.
The broiler maturates, to improve the quality, and shelf life.
Monitoring the chilling process is very important, since the birds lose moisture that is equivalent
to losing weight.
To prevent moisture loss, the birds receive a thin film of water internally, and externally.
After properly tested, and chilled, the carcass is typically cut, and deboned to accommodate
a variety of different products.
Depending on the processing plant, these products may include the fresh or frozen chicken sold
in stores, chicken used in restaurants or exported.
After a specified period of time in a facility’s chiller baths, the poultry are recovered for
processing.
This often involves the use of sharp-bladed instruments to debone, trim, and cut the birds
into various parts.
In many cases, these parts can be processed with seasonings, spices, marinades, or other
ingredients for consumers.
Secondary processing may also occur in which parts are converted to ready-to-eat products
such as hotdogs, sausages, or nuggets.
Packaging of birds, either in whole or in parts, occurs as a last step prior to shipping
to food distribution networks.
Once chicken is cut up into parts, it is packed in trays, and wrapped.
The wrapped product is then inspected again to ensure that it meets or exceeds both consumer
and customer expectations.
Wrapped product is placed into baskets and sent through a “blast tunnel” to receive
a chill.
This is done so that the product can have an extended shelf life by keeping it fresh
longer.
Though the product is significantly cooled during this process, it does not freeze.
After the product is properly chilled, it is weighed, and price, and safe handling instructions
are affixed to the package.
Labels on chicken packages must be approved by USDA prior to application on a product.
The product then passes through a metal detector for one final check to ensure that there is
nothing present in the package that doesn’t belong there.
Finally, the product is packaged into boxes where a label is placed on the exterior of
the box.
This label displays the date packaged, USDA seal of approval, and the establishment number
of the plant, so that the product can be traced to the establishment where it was produced.
Chicken production in industrialized countries has undergone huge changes in the course of
the last century.
In the past, chickens were fed on farm diets, and kept to produce eggs, and meat.
This has changed with the establishment of specialized industrial production systems
that are characterized by factory farms.
Industrial farming as “a system of raising animals, using intensive ‘production line’
methods that maximize the amount of meat produced, while minimizing costs”.
Chicken factory farms have thrived significantly in the past 2 decades, and they supply the
largest share of chicken meat demands in the country.
Thank you for watching, and see you on my next video.