PROCESSING ▶▶▶
Flexible poultry processing increases yields
Poultry processors worldwide are operating under challenging market conditions with margins being squeezed ever tighter. The ability of a solution in a processing line to automatically adjust to various bird breeds and weights adds significant value and can sway profits considerably.
BY NATALIE BERKHOUT
The precise ana- tomical cut be- tween the two joints achieved by Meyn’s wing cutter means maximum back meat and mini- mal breast meat.
T
o remain competitive and profitable, poultry pro- cessors must ensure that they achieve optimum process efficiency to increase their yield wherever possible. One such process improvement which can
aid in this endeavour relates to wing cutting which, when operating smoothly, offers reduced processing times while increasing the cut yield.
Popularity of poultry meat The relatively low pricing of poultry products compared to other meats – due, in part, to the broiler industry being able to attain tremendous productivity and efficiency over the years, together with the absence of faith-related obstacles, as
well as the low-fat content and other health benefits of poul- try meat – explains its continued and rising demand. From this perspective, the long-term profitability of the poultry in- dustry looks very positive. However, although the demand and popularity of poultry meat is expected to grow globally over the coming years, Covid-19 lockdown measures have led to changes in demand patterns, with a notable shift away from the food service and hospitality sector to the retail and online market. Such changes and the general uncertainty about which markets will recover and when, have resulted in highly volatile poultry product prices. This, in turn, has nega- tively impacted the operating margins of poultry processors.
Processing various breeds and sizes A significant trend adding to the challenges for poultry pro- cessors, seen particularly in Western Europe, is the variation in breeds and weights within and between flocks, combined with a growing average bird weight. The latter is also seen a lot in North America. Highly efficient genetic selection for eco- nomically-beneficial and important traits, like body weight, growth rate, feed efficiency, and those associated with car- cass-processing characteristics, have been instrumental in the increasing productivity and efficiency of the broiler industry. This has meant, however, that poultry processors are under in- creasing pressure to be flexible in both variable input products (breed and weight ranges) as well as output products. The average live weight of meat broilers is increasing year- on-year and, according to an Oxford Animal report: Impact of Genetics and Breeding on Broiler Production Performance, breeding companies have used population genetics through quantitative selection practices since the 1940s to improve productivity and efficiency in the poultry industry today (Hunton, 2006). Data from 2000 to 2015 indicate that the av- erage market weight has increased from 2.3 to 2.8kg with a steady increase expected to continue. Interestingly, in 1957, a 42-day-old broiler weighed 586g with a feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 2.8, while today, a broiler of the same age weighs 2.0kg with an FCR of under 1.70 (Zuidhof and others, 2014). This improvement in production can only be truly realised if
28 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 4, 2021
PHOTO: MEYN
PHOTO: MEYN
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