ABSTRACT
Introduction In commercial poultry-processing plants today, birds are shackled by the legs and processed in an automated in-line system that conveys inverted birds through a series of equipment. The processing steps are a highly coordinated system of mechanized operations that kill the birds, remove the inedible portions of the carcasses, and package/preserve the edible portions for distribution to the consumer. The efciency of processing is largely dependent on the uniformity of the birds, so that each machine can do a repeated movement with little or no adjustment between birds. Another important factor is the logistical coordination of carcass ow and production lines, so that adequate birds are present to make maximum use of the personnel and equipment. These xed costs are incurred by the plant regardless of the presence of birds and, therefore, need to be paid by the production of poultry meat. Because these costs are xed, it is generally more protable to process larger birds. However, the current market segments for poultry require multiple sizes of birds. The average live weight of broilers is 5.5 lb, but birds can range in size from 3.6 lb up to 8.0+ lb. The smaller birds are generally for fast food, rotisserie, and cut-up parts, whereas the larger birds tend to be used for further-processing. Since uniformity is so important to processing efciency and product yield, poultry processing facilities will generally process a specic size bird for a targeted market segment. During processing, the goals are to maximize yield, product quality, and safety. Additionally, to maximize
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................25 Slaughter......................................................................................................................................... 26
Unloading .................................................................................................................................. 26 Stunning ..................................................................................................................................... 26 Exsanguination ......................................................................................................................... 29 Feather removal ........................................................................................................................30
