Americas Favorite Meat Source

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Chicken

• Americas Favorite Meat Source

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Appeal Of Chicken

• In the year 2000, Chicken surpassed Beef as
  Americans most popular meat source.
• In 1975, the U.S. consumed an average of 35 lbs
  (16kg) per person
• In 2000, the U.S. consumed an average of 80 lbs
  (36kg) per person
• Chicken consumption has grown at an average rate
  of 5 per year since 1975

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Reasons For Growth In Consumption Rate

• Chicken is a relatively cheap food source the
  average cost to produce is 1/kg
• Easy Meal Solutions
• Positive Health Messages
• Well known chicken fast food chains
• - KFC
• - McDonalds Chicken McNuggets

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Stunning and Bleeding

• Birds are removed carefully from their crates by
  holding both legs and placing carefully on the
  overhead rail in shackles
• Brine bath stunning
• Brine and the metal in shackles act as two
  electrodes
• Once birds head contacts bath, it is stunned
• Uniformity of size is important
• After cutting, allow bird to bleed for 1.5 - 2 min

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Scalding and Defeathering

• Overhead rail transports birds to scalding bath
  (52C )
• Taken off rail and remove tail and flight
  feathers
• Soft Feather removal
• Drum Plucker
• Bowl Plucker

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Scald Tank
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Drum Plucker
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Evisceration

• The head is removed neck is cut away
• Giblets (liver, heart and gizzard) are
• separated
• Inedible parts are placed in bin
• Inspection of bird and giblets
• Birds are then washed in cold chlorinated water
  and chilled in cooled water
• Chicken is taken off overhead conveyor feet are
  chopped off

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Cooling and Cutting

• Birds are cooled in a Chill Store
• Lower temp. from 35C to 5C in two hours
• Must be cut quickly before temperature rises
• Carcasses may be prepared as whole birds or by
  cutting into halves, quarters, legs, thighs,
  wings, breasts, drumsticks or complete deboning

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Packing and Refrigeration

• Chicken is packaged in plastic bags or on trays
• Giblets are reunited with whole chickens
• If operating at a high capacity, most of the
  chickens will be frozen before dispatching
• Blast freezing requires precision timing

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Further Processing

• Specialized operations or plants that receive
  whole chicken or cut-up parts and perform a
  variety of further processing steps, such as
  cooking, breading, or marinating.

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Any Questions?