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 Beneficial
news and researches
Electrical Stimulation of Chicken Carcass
Makes Meat More Tender
By Sharon
Durham
December 17, 2002
A new processing wrinkle developed by Agricultural
Research Service scientists may allow older, egg-producing
layer hens to be processed like broiler birds. Usually, mature
birds are processed for lower-value items such as feed, pressed
products like chicken nuggets, or use in canned foods.
ARS researchers J. Andra Dickens, Clyde E. Lyon, Richard H.
Buhr and Brenda G. Lyon of the Richard B. Russell Research
Center in Athens, Ga., found that electrical stimulation of
carcasses makes breast meat from mature laying hens more tender
and speeds up processing.
Poultry plants processed more than 8.25 billion broilers in
2000, valued at more than $14 billion. In December 2001, the
laying hen inventory was estimated to be 335 million, most
of which could be processed as high-quality meat using electrical
stimulation.
Processing broilers is an assembly line affair, with time
built in for chilling the meat before removing the bone. Breast
muscle that remains on the bone for four to six hours after
the bird has been processed is deemed to have optimal tenderness.
Reducing the on-the-bone chilling time normally interferes
with the process of rigor mortis, making the meat tough and
chewy when cooked. But the electrically stimulated carcass
is ready to be deboned after chilling for only two hours.
This saves processors time, because workers can debone the
carcass during the same shift instead of waiting for the next
shift.
Read
more about this research in the December
2002 issue of Agricultural
Research magazine.
ARS is the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research
agency
Stricter measures for food exporters
Thai Government (wethai.com)
Thai authorities will impose stricter measures in banning
shrimp and chicken companies from exporting to the European
Union if their products are found to be contaminated with
chemical residues, according to Mr. Sompol Kiatpaibul, an
adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.
Mr. Sompol said a Thai technical team that met with EU officials
in Brussels heard complaints about several Thai companies
that had made repeated mistakes. Closer monitoring by Thai
officials was now essential, he said. "Such a move will
rebuild the country's reputation for shrimp and chicken exporters.
Indeed, several companies that have made mistakes should be
penalized, instead of penalizing the industry across the board,"
he said.
As a result of the Brussels meeting, he said, Thailand had
committed to chemical testing of shrimp and chicken from the
farm to export stages. An action plan will be submitted to
EU authorities by the end of this year. Officials believe
that within two weeks, no Thai chicken and shrimp exports
would be found with chemical residues, because Thailand recently
acquired the same testing equipment the EU uses. "We
have a high expectation that the EU will relax testing regulations
on Thai products automatically after it endorses the Thai
action plan," said Mr. Sompol.
Mr. Paiboon Ponsuwanna, the president of the Thai Frozen Foods
Association, said farmers had to share responsibility for
the chemical residue problem. The EU in recent months has
been inspecting all Thai shipments instead of just random
ones as before.
Shipments of chicken and shrimps to the EU fell sharply after
the 15-nation trade bloc imposed the new rule. Shipments of
frozen shrimps to the EU in the first six months totaled 1,198
tons worth 360 million baht, down by 70% in volume and 76%
in value from the same period last year.
Chicken exporters said the additional checks would make it
very difficult for Thailand to reach its export target of
165,000 tons to the EU this year, up from 150,000 last year.
Total chicken exports are expected to fall as a result by
5-10% from 437,000 tons last year.
Measuring What Chickens Chug-a-Lug
By Alfredo
Flores
January 22, 2003
A device developed by the Agricultural
Research Service that measures how much water chickens
receive through automatic watering systems is being presented
today at the International Poultry Exposition in Atlanta,
Ga.
The device, called a "nipple waterflow rate stick,"
will be unveiled by VAL
Products of Lancaster, Pa. The device was co-developed
a year ago by VAL Products and former ARS nutritionist Berry
Lott, now an extension poultry specialist with Mississippi
State University. The new device could provide chicken
growers with a solution to a long-standing problem.
When giving chickens water, growers use pipe delivery systems--or
drinkers--that dispense the liquid through "nipples"
that the chickens can draw from. But up to a year ago, growers
were unable to know for sure just how much water their chickens
were getting--vital information that could be used to gauge
the birds nutritional health.
The nipple waterflow rate stick can determine how much water
the chickens are receiving, along with the rate at which the
water is distributed and what materials are being carried
in the water.
Roughly 25,000 chickens are housed in the average poultry
house, which has four 400-foot-long pipes with nipples attached.
In just one minute, a chicken grower using the nipple waterflow
rate stick can be alerted to low waterflow that could cause
reduced feeding.
The device will sell under the name of the VAL Lott stick.
It is named after Berry Lott, who worked with ARS agricultural
engineer Jack Simmons and ARS chemical engineer Dana Miles
to develop the nipple waterflow rate stick.
A recent study by Simmons showed that low waterflow rates
can reduce chickens' weight gain by as much as 20 percent.
The unique device calculates the flow rate of drinkers quickly
and easily, so growers don't have to kneel in litter to take
cumbersome measurements.
ARS is the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's principal scientific research
agency.
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