Meat+Poultry - June 2019 - 54

POULTRY PROCESSING TECH

This "SmoothFlow" CAS
system features a single
straight, horizontal
line which ensures
the best possible end
product quality.

"We are deploying world-class technologies
and best practices that support our goal
to eliminate stress and pain and provide
humane treatment of animals in our care,
while enhancing employee health and safety
and food quality," said Michael McCain,
president and CEO, Maple Leaf Foods.
"With Canada's leading poultry brands, we are
advancing many dimensions of sustainability,
from eliminating antibiotics, to best practices
in animal care and dramatic reductions in our
environmental footprint."
As the company incorporates CAS as part
of its process, it will convert its transportation,
lairage and receiving area and handling
systems to "optimize rest-time and create a
climate-controlled environment," the company
said. "The new lairage system will enhance
lighting, air quality and temperature control,
allowing chickens to rest comfortably and
significantly reducing stress."
The CAS technology Maple Leaf selected
is a humane system that will ensure birds are
fully insensible prior to processing.

INDUSTRY INFLUENCE

54

MEAT+ POULTRY | 06.19 | www.meatpoultry.com

Marel

Influence over poultry producers is not only
coming from consumers, companies such
as Blue Apron, the New York-based meal
kit provider, are helping to urge change
throughout the supply chain. The company
was recognized June 21, 2018, at the 2018

Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards hosted
by Compassion in World Farming, with the
Good Chicken Award, in recognition of the
company's commitment to using higher welfare
chicken in its supply chain.
"We believe that a critical component of any
successful food company is the responsibility
- to our customers, suppliers, and the industry
at large - to ensure the health and well-being
of animals raised throughout our supply
chain," said Tim Smith, senior vice president
and general manager of consumer products
at Blue Apron. "We are honored to receive
Compassion in World Farming's Good Chicken
Award in recognition of the accomplishments
we have made in our broiler chicken supply
and are proud to share our comprehensive
animal welfare standards and future sourcing
commitments with the public."
Blue Apron's progress to date in animal
welfare in the broiler industry includes over
10 percent of Blue Apron's broiler chicken
supply is pasture-raised by a Global Animal
Partnership (GAP) Step 4-certified producer
utilizing higher welfare breeds. Blue Apron's
remaining broiler chicken supply is raised in
enhanced welfare indoor systems with 100
percent vegetarian feed and without the use of
antibiotics ever.
"We are proud of how far we have come in
our efforts to implement positive change within
the food system," Smith said. "The ethical and
humane treatment of animals raised for food
has been a top priority of Blue Apron and we
are encouraged by our achievements to date
across our supply chain."
In addition to maintaining its current
progress, Blue Apron has set goals for the
coming years including by the end of 2023,
Blue Apron is planning to transition to strains
of birds that demonstrate higher welfare
outcomes that meet the criteria of the RSPCA
Broiler Breed Welfare Assessment Protocol
or GAP; to reduce stocking density to a
maximum of 6 lbs. per sq. ft. and provide birds
enriched environments that meet GAP Step 4
standards on litter, lighting and enrichment;
to process broiler chickens in a manner that
avoids pre-stun handling and instead utilizes
a multi-step controlled atmosphere stunning
system that induces an irreversible stun; and
to demonstrate compliance with the above
standards via third-party auditing.
http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meat+Poultry - June 2019
