Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 8/30/16


For the first time, the local food authority in Shandong Province in East China has published standards for chicken slaughter designed to be more hygienic and humane, according to several media reports.

The new protocols were developed by Shandong’s Qingdao Architectural University and are designed to establish an environment that meets the natural needs of chickens before and during the slaughter process, according to the GlobalTimes.com website. The procedures reportedly reduce stress during capture with workers handling birds using both wings instead of one wing to pick them up, setting specific temperature controls during transport and stunning the chickens before slaughter to reduce pain levels.

The Shandong poultry industry produces about 20 percent of China’s chicken and is its leading poultry breeding operation, according to Chinanews.com. An official at the school that developed the new standards told the news outlet that improved natural poultry processing procedures can eliminate the lower quality of chickens produced – often involving blood clots and broken wings and legs – and help the industry meet global poultry standards.

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