Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • FREE Magazine Subscriptions
    •  
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Poultry News
    • Production
      • Broiler Production
      • Ducks
      • Egg Production
      • Game
      • Hatching
      • Housing
      • Turkeys
    • Processing
    • Business & Politics
      • Business
      • Economics
      • EU & Politics
      • Marketing
      • People
      • Training & Education
    • Welfare
      • Environment
      • Food Safety
      • Vet & Medication
      • Welfare
    • Feed
    • Genetics
    • New Products
    • Magazines
      1. May 2022
      2. April 2022
      3. February 2022
      4. January 2022
      5. December 2021
      6. November 2021
      Featured

      Protected: Poultry Business – April 2022

      By Chloe RyanApril 7, 2022
      Recent

      Protected: Poultry Business – May 2022

      May 6, 2022

      Protected: Poultry Business – April 2022

      April 7, 2022

      Protected: Poultry Business – March 2022

      March 8, 2022
    • Jobs
      • Browse Jobs
      • Post a Job
      • Manage Jobs
    • Events
      • National Egg and Poultry Awards
      • Poultry Fair
    Poultry News
    Business

    Processing feature: Stunning and slaughter

    Chloe RyanBy Chloe RyanOctober 15, 20184 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

    The CO2 shortage earlier this year highlighted the issue of gas stunning and how birds are slaughtered in processing plants.

    It drew attention to the fact the use of gas for stunning has become increasingly popular for both welfare and practical reasons. When birds are rendered unconscious in crates using gas, it is far easier for workers to handle them prior to the final dispatch.

    Passing the birds through an electrically charged water bath is still practiced in some processing plants, but it’s becoming increasingly seen as an inferior option.

    Indeed when the gas shortage struck, the general manager of one of the UK’s 20 large poultry processing plants told Poultry Business there had been chaotic scenes when they were forced to switch back to electrical stunning.

    “We’ve got chickens trying to escape everywhere and workers who aren’t used to handling them,” he said in June. “It’s taking a lot longer to get everything through, but we’ve got no choice.”

    Despite this unprecedented hiccup, gas is increasingly the first option for new and refurbished plants.

    There are several gas stunning systems on the market. Marel Poultry offers multiphase controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) technology. The first system was commissioned in 1996. Since then the CAS system has been installed throughout the European Union and in markets further afield such as the USA and Australia.

    The multiphase CAS concept has been optimised by arranging the system into a single straight horizontal line. The fully automatic stunning system programmed from a touch screen adjacent to the system. Changing from one regime to another is quick and easy. Exact concentrations around the head of each broiler are continuously monitored and displayed.

    The system follows a Stork GP or an ATLAS live bird handling system. Broilers on the belt or in their SmartStack trays are transferred smoothly to the CAS SmoothFlow system. These straight movements without sudden transitions makes for one of the most humane processes in the industry, Marel Poultry says.

    This was the system chosen by 2 Sisters when it upgraded its Scunthorpe plant to become fully automated in August 2016. Costing £45 million, the firm said Scunthorpe would be “the world’s most advanced poultry processing plant”.

    The company installed new robotic cells at the plant to create “a fully automated process” and increased the capacity of the site by a third to 2.4 million birds a week.

    Improved animal welfare was a priority when Meyn developed its new Multistage CO2 stunning system, a co-development with Praxair. Birds remain in the drawer or container during stunning, so that handling and transport of active birds is completely eliminated. This approach greatly reduces handling stress and lowers the risk of injuring birds during the transportation process.

    Closed cabinet construction allows for CO2 concentration to be managed precisely at every stage of the process, resulting in a more humane stun and greatly improved end product quality.

    Meyn said its CO2 stunning system for poultry offers the twin benefits of improved animal welfare and enhanced product quality.

     

    Case study: Traditional Norfolk Poultry has recently invested in a new gas stunning system.

    TNP processes around 85,000 speciality free range chickens per week and during the Christmas period it also processes around 300,000 speciality free range turkeys. TNP as a total business employs in the region of 200 colleagues.

    During 2016, it doubled the size of its factory and invested in new machinery including Ulma packing machines, Marel scales, Hellenic, Loma and Bayle plucking machine, and Meyn Gas stunning.

    The Meyn Gas stunning system, installed in November 2016, was done after careful research and bearing in mind a strong ethos for animal welfare. The investment was over £1 million.

    TNP has been impressed with its multi-stage C02 system, which it says has delivered efficiencies such as: reduced maturation time; higher yield; no haemorrhaging; reduced wing damage; consistent high quality.

    The system is such that the birds are not doubled handled, the modules that they arrive in are transported direct to the chamber, birds are allowed to sleep and die gradually without stress. This is a six minute cycle with unconscious occurring well within three minutes. “This system exceeds a higher welfare standards requirement and provides a good working environment for our colleagues,” the poultry firm says.

    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleProcessing feature: Show me the money
    Next Article Processing feature: The slice is right
    Chloe Ryan

    Editor of Poultry Business, Chloe has spent the past decade writing about the food industry from farming, through manufacturing, retail and foodservice. When not working, dog walking and reading biographies are her favourite hobbies.

    Read Similar Stories

    Business

    Green light given for Salisbury Poultry’s £12m Wolverhampton expansion project

    May 18, 2022
    Business

    BPC warns on Government decision to delay border controls on meat imports

    May 5, 2022
    Business & Politics

    Government decision to delay import checks requirement by up to 18 months “flies in the face of common sense”

    May 2, 2022
    Most Read

    Australia’s biggest chicken processors to fix unfair contracts with farmers after ACCC investigation

    May 26, 2022

    Egg prices could rise as much as 21% this year as Bird Flu hits the US

    May 26, 2022

    Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the UK and Europe

    May 25, 2022
    © 2022 Lewis Business Media. All Rights Reserved.
    Lewis Business Media, Suite A, Arun House, Office Village, River Way, Uckfield, TN22 1SL

    Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • AA Farmer
    • Farm Contractor
    • Pig World
    • OvertheCounter

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “ACCEPT ALL”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsREJECT ALLAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    AWSALBCORS7 daysThis cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing.
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category .
    PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    CookieDurationDescription
    AWSALB7 daysAWSALB is a cookie generated by the Application load balancer in the Amazon Web Services. It works slightly different from AWSELB.
    explat_test_aa_weekly_lohp_2021_week_4517 days 8 hoursNo description
    ppwp_wp_session30 minutesNo description
    tk_ai14 daysGathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
    tk_qssessionGathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    CookieDurationDescription
    OAGEOsessionOpenX sets this cookie to avoid the repeated display of the same ad.
    OAID1 yearThis cookie is set when an AdsWizz website visitor have opted out the collection of information by AdsWizz service or opted to disable the targeted ads by AdsWizz.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    CookieDurationDescription
    _ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
    _gat_gtag_UA_31822138_71 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
    _gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
    tk_lr1 yearThe tk_lr is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
    tk_or5 yearsThe tk_or is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
    tk_r3d3 daysJetPack installs this cookie to collect internal metrics for user activity and in turn improve user experience.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    Powered by CookieYes Logo