Bell & Evans New Organic-certified Chicken Harvesting Facility Virtual Tour

[Music] foreign [Music] Scott seckler I'm here with my son Scott Jr and my daughter Margot Welcome to our next generation of poultry processing we're standing in front of our new organic certified chicken harvesting facility and we're really looking forward to showing you around this is probably your first opportunity to see inside an operating chicken harvesting plant once you see inside you will know why we are the most Innovative poultry processor in the world roughly the size of seven football fields the facility size and design allow us to comfortably Harvest 100 percent of our Birds here we spared no expense spending over 360 million to ensure longevity team member safety Animal Welfare food safety Superior product quality and sustainability we not only earned the first green Loan in U.S poultry history this plant is recognized as the food engineering plant of the year the new facility is separated into first processing which includes live receiving Harvest and chilling of the chickens and second processing which is where the chickens and chicken parts are prepared for packaging and shipment it all starts here at live receiving where chickens arrive from our Farms it's important to know that our birds are intentionally raised to a healthy 5.6 pound average live weight which is about 42 percent smaller than other poultry Brands this is both an animal welfare and product quality decision stress reduction is critical in our Superior animal welfare program and we continue to make significant upgrades to our live receiving equipment and processes brand new high-tech trailers transport our chickens from the farm these trailers are lightweight for better fuel efficiency and have winter and summer side curtains to protect our birds from the elements these new larger trays provide more Headroom and all-around ventilation than traditional crates they are designed as part of our fully automated unloading system so that once birds are placed in the tray they are never handled by humans while conscious Bellen Evans is the first poultry producer in North America to invest in and use this fully automated unloading system our trailers back up to our live receiving area where a conveyor system gently slides a set of tracks underneath the entire module of chickens in the trailer and slowly pulls it into the facility without the use of Fork trucks loud noises or jolting movements you can see how calm the chickens are we use blue Lighting in this area because chickens perceive it as Darkness but the team members have visibility for safety it is also safer in here without Fork trucks moving around this area is temperature controlled for both the birds and team member Comfort white lights are turned on after processing for full visibility during Sanitation the modules gradually Move Along two processing lines through an automated unstacking machine and into slow induction anesthesia slow induction anesthesia or Sia is the slow and Humane method of rendering chickens unconscious that we pioneered over a decade ago in this facility we further upgraded this system by adding oxygen to tempered CO2 for an even gentler better controlled process of putting the chickens to sleep this animal welfare benefit means little to no stress on the birds which results in a more tender product windows allow for full transparency through Sia after Sia We Begin The Harvest process the birds are fully unconscious which ensures our team members will never have to Shackle a conscious bird it also means this room can be brightly lit creating a good working environment every tray in shackle has tracking technology to follow the path of the bird this allows us to capture valuable data for continuous Improvement here is our mod wash station where each tray is fully cleansed with hot water and organic approved disinfectant after every use there are no frames on the self-nesting trays so the entire structure can be thoroughly cleaned here we use reconditioned water from our new wastewater treatment plant another part of this build in fact 41 of our site water is recycled the water savings from our 100 air chill processing makes us 40 percent more water efficient than the rest of the poultry industry on top of that this water is heated using a waste heat from our rendering plant we can heat 250 gallons of water a minute without additional fuel greatly reducing our daily carbon emissions here we are at the start of the Harvest process where birds are bled out before they move through a scalder system that softens the skin and opens pores for easier feather removal our upgraded scalders deliver heat through radiators instead of live steam to maintain an even water temperature this improves skin quality and feather removal we installed nine feather Pickers nearly double what other producers use extra Pickers mean our birds are cleaner with fewer skin tears because of a gentler picking at each picker the first group concentrates primarily on the body and the second group removes pin feathers in a gentle but methodical manner feathers and other byproducts are directly piped to our rendering facility next door this upgrade eliminates transfer bins reduces contamination risk and improves plant safety the next process electrical stimulation helps release energy from the muscles and quickens the meat tenderization and aging process we pioneered this Innovative chicken Cinder to further remove pin feathers or fine hair and reduce common surface bacteria like salmonella this is the last preparation step prior to evisceration evisceration the critical step in prepping the birds for sale is where the chicken innards are removed then the bird is cleaned and physically examined Bell and Evans is the first poultry processor in North America to Vision grade at the start of evisceration these unique and expensive cameras capture front and back images of every bird to detect exterior defects a defective bird is automatically moved off the line to a team member sortation station weight data is also captured before and after evisceration for important Health insights the birds are Auto transferred to color-coded hangers to Aid our team members examination and quality checks each workstation has adjustable platforms to make standing and reaching easier after the innards and giblets are removed the birds are reviewed again and rinsed in an organic antimicrobial to reduce bacteria we are the only U.S producer with a dedicated giblet processing room here liver is gizzards and hearts are hand sorted for superior quality the chickens and giblets are now ready to be chilled one hundred percent air Trail has been our standard since 2004 and we upgraded the process at this facility 100 percent air chill uses cold air to reduce the bird's temperature during processing instead of the chlorinated water baths that are used in conventional chicken production our improved 100 Air Show quickly cold Sears the exterior of the bird to lock in its natural juices a second longer phase slowly balances the overall temperature of the bird the total process takes nearly three hours for the birds to travel almost two miles of track 100 air chill is a critical component of our product quality it creates a more tender more flavorful eating experience because the process is more gentle and no chlorinated water is absorbed into the meat before we proceed to Second processing it's important to note that we carefully selected building materials with food safety and longevity in mind there are no painted surfaces or wooden production areas that could deteriorate or Harbor bacteria in most areas we suspended the equipment to minimize Lake columns on the floor and install acid brick flooring because of its tremendous durability these are all unique Bell and Evans food safety measures we are mindful of our team member welfare too for instance in most areas we used a special white concrete for the walls to provide bright workspaces for team members areas are well lit with LED lighting and where possible temperature controlled for comfort that same attention to detail was reflected behind the scenes our processors require Advanced infrastructure to ensure consistency and food safety as with our other facilities a complete walk-on ceiling for utility access contributes to our food safety program because it separates maintenance work from production areas the interstitial space Also provides additional insulation for temperature control furthermore we used 100 stainless steel piping in our ammonia system to prevent rust and breakage which is very important to team member safety each unit is equipped with ultraviolet lights to prevent moisture in the air that could breed bacteria an important food safety measure now is a good time to elaborate on another key Bell and Evans difference our inline processing we remove the typical steps where humans manually move product and bins from one area to another this means less human handling and traffic throughout the facility which improves team member and food safety this also helps keep product moving making Bell and Evans the freshest chicken in the market once the chickens emerge from Air chill they enter second processing or more simply cut up into boning it's a cool 36 degrees in here for product safety second processing features five key areas whole Birds white meat dark meat specialty cuts and packaging immediately after air chill whole birds are weighed and vision graded for the third and final time they are shorted by weight and either packaged individually or prepared for bulk sale birds that are not reserved for whole bird Sails are cut up into parts the whole birds travel through Progressive cut up stations to separate the white meat portions from the dark meat once the breast cap is separated we use automated breast deboning equipment to remove the breast and tender from the bone those pieces are then transferred via conveyors to our trimming stations where they are hand trimmed and inspected for quality each team member station has an adjustable platform for ergonomic Comfort colored lights help supervisors identify needs for additional training all boneless products both white and dark meat pass through high-tech x-ray bone detection this equipment was originally designed for the fish industry to detect soft and very small bones it works great for our chicken on the dark meat line we further break down the back half of the bird to capture whole legs thighs and drumsticks all of these parts can be produced as boneless with our first in the world in-line deboning equipment similar to breast deboning boneless product is hand trimmed and x-rayed to ensure product quality where are the wings you ask the wings are removed first in the process because they are the most exterior point of the bird you'll notice our wings are classic sized not jumbo Wings because again our Burrs are a more natural size smaller than the industry average our wings also have a dedicated grading system to ensure clean cuts and high quality Special Care is taken for specialty Cuts like our Airline breasts the designated area and specially trained team hand trim the most Premium Cuts of our chicken here we use 100 of the bird so even the Bones skin and fat are captured for bulk sale for products like chicken broth or pet food we use an internal vacuum system to move byproducts to a collection area rather than moving them manually which again minimizes traffic on the floor organic chicken is processed first each day separately from our raised without antibiotics chicken all of our production is in these two categories we produce no commodity product in this area these reusable trays hold Whip or work in progress product that gets transferred to our further processing and packaging facility only a mile away that's where our recognizable vacuum sealed trays and breaded products like our famous chicken nuggets are made whole birds and bulk product for business customers are packaged and shipped directly from this facility bulk product is vacuum sealed in convenient 5 or 10 pound pouches this extra measure provides Optimum freshness for our butchers meat counters and restaurants so they open only the amount of product that they need at the time in this room we form our master case boxes these boxes are unique too they are made from 100 recycled material with no wax coating and are fully recyclable after use they are easy to open and for safety no box cutters are needed in our warehouse area conveyors seven robots and a shuttle system box palletize and move pallets to be loaded onto trailers these measures reduce fork truck traffic and human handling for a safer work environment in addition to all the Animal Welfare food safety product quality and team member safety considerations we also work hard to make a comfortable and enjoyable work environment it's a beautiful high-tech Building inside and out you'd never know this is a poultry processing plant from the outside providing a safe comfortable environment for our team members is important in addition to the adjustable platforms we have on-site athletic trainers who provide education and stretching programs for additional ergonomic support stretching is mandatory multiple times throughout a shift in addition to the athletic trainers on the production floor we have a free on-site Medical Center for team members as well as an off-site Wellness Center for team members and their families in our international cafe daily hot meals are available at a low cost for team members the diverse menu often includes a bell and Evans chicken entree a salad bar grill station prepared foods area fresh juices and free coffee are always available special team member engagements include free meals product giveaways and other events to promote our family culture this is all key to producing the excellent chicken as you can see and I can attest to this is the most fabulous chicken plant in the world we hope you enjoyed touring our new organic certified chicken harvesting facility thank you for watching

Channel: BellandEvans

Views: 24,440

Keywords:

Id: m2T36N7S0IA

Length: 15min 29sec (929 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 30 2022