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Development of poultry industry
By M.M. Nazri
Poultry types include principally chicken, turkey, ducks and geese. Poultry is raised for meat and eggs. The poultry industry has made great strides in the last few decades in Pakistan and has increased at the rate of 20 to 25 per cent per annum. At present there are about more than 10,000 poultry farms in the country.Modern poultry farming plays an important role as far as nutrition is concerned in Pakistan, it being an easy and relatively cheap method of raising the dietary standards of the people. The shortage of animal protein in Pakistan has been
estimated about 1.5 million tons on the basis of even population of 140 million.
Processing of poultry and its importance in human diet
At present there are about 12000 poultry farms in the country with an investment of Rs10,000 million and are located in big cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar, etc, and some areas of Punjab. The average consumption of the animal protein is about 17 grams as against the daily requirements recommended of 28 grams. This deficiency can be met with the increase of production of poultry meat at a reasonable cost.
The ability of poultry to adapt to most areas of the world, the low economic value per unit; the rapid growth rate of poultry and the rapid generation time; all make poultry an ideal starting point for beginning animal agriculture and a rich source of animal proteins for human food. A poultry enterprise can be producing meat in eight weeks, and eggs in 24 weeks, it has been estimated that chicken appears in the diet of more people throughout the world as a source of meat than the meat from any other animal.
Poultry meat carries an advantage over red meat (beef and mutton) in having less percentage of fat than either beef or mutton, and is therefore, termed as non fattening and good dietary source for the prevention of hardening of arteries - a common ailment.
Production of quality feeds
Feed is a major expense in poultry production amounting to about 60 to 70 per cent of the total cost. Hence the most important factor in poultry production is the ratio between the feed and egg/meat. A newly hatched chick can survive for up to two days on the yolk ingested from the egg, but it needs to be fed as soon possible with good quality feed, containing essential nutrients to meet adequately the option requirements for growth, egg production, egg quality and general body health.
Different feeds give different results in terms of growth and egg production. A broiler chick grown to 9 weeks of age may require 3.0 lbs. of feed per pound gain, but another feed may require 3.5 kg under identical conditions.
Balanced poultry feed
One of the main factors involved in achieving efficient production is the quality of ration given to the birds. Ration should suit the objective like using laying ration for egg production, broiler ration for the production of broilers.
Layers eat only to satisfy their body's energy. Principal sources of energy are grains contained in the ration. If corn is not grinded, the broken corn kernels are very attractive to the layers and they pick up these as long as they are there to be picked. The result is that the birds lay on fat instead of laying eggs and do not lay as many eggs as they are expected to.
It is imperative to note that due to technological improvements in recent years the cost of producing broilers has greatly changed, which gives high efficiency in conversion of feed into meat. A decade back, 3.0 to 3.5 pounds of feed per pound of meat were required for a 3-pound broiler. Today many producers are producing a three-pound broiler with 2.2 to 2.5 pound of feed per pound of meat. The changes in the rate of conversion have been brought by increasing the fat and oil, and by decreasing the fibre content of the ration and by adding antibiotics.
Broiler feeds
Birds only eat to satisfy their demand for energy. The higher the energy level of diet, the less the birds will eat and therefore the better overall feed conversion rate. Chicks eat less feed in hot weather than when they do when it is cold. Birds feather poorly in hot weather due to less feed intake.
Quality control for the poultry feed
The Pakistan Standard Institute has already adopted nutritional standards of poultry feed though most of the feed manufacturers do not work to any standard of quality. The growers have no means of assessing the nutritive value of feeds except expensive and lengthy methods of trial and error. Thus, there is an urgent need to investigate the nutritive value of the locally produced feeds, particularly, attention should be paid to the amino-acid structure. (N.B. the writer was also one of the members of Pakistan Standard Institution).
Artal and Kentucky Fried Chicken
Under a collaboration agreement with PepsiCo. Artal has introduced the world famous Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain in Pakistan. As the second largest restaurant chain worldwide, KFC operates in over 70 countries with more than 10,000 restaurants. In Asia, KFC is the market leader with market leadership position in Japan, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Korea. KFC is also very popular in Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Malaysia. Benefits of the Artal/KFC operation include:
* Improvement of quality standards for raw materials
* Improvement of standards of hygiene and sanitation in the restaurant industry
* Improvement of skills and technology transfer in the construction industry
* Large consumer of Pakistan raw materials
* Expansion of consumers' choice for eating out
* New employment opportunities and new service industry skills
M-Artal poultry
The poultry industry in Pakistan has tremendous potential. However, the industry is characterised by small and unorganised operators. Lack of disease control, financial commitment and technology are the major problems facing the industry today. Artal Pakistan, franchise holders for the KFC chain of restaurants, has a distinct advantage to upgrade this sector. The stringent quality requirements of the KFC outlets and the lack of availability of processed chicken in the local market has created the need for M-Artal Poultry, which is establishing one of the largest integrated poultry projects in the region.
The integration includes a state of the art 'halal' slaughterhouse cum processing house, rendering plant, wastewater treatment plant and cold storage facilities, feedmill, hatchery, parent stock and broiler farms.
Processing of Poultry
(1) The processing of poultry should be done in a hygienic way and poultry processing plants should not be situated in a poultry farm, as the mortality of poultry increase due to the spread of diseases on the poultry.
(2) Starvation for 24 hours or a least 12 hours of the poultry before slaughter has been recommended as upon the slaughter of the poultry, invasion of the tissues by contaminating micro-organisms takes place and this depends on the load in the gut of the fowl. The greater the load in the gut the greater will be the invasion of tissues by micro-organism.
(3) The slaughtering and defeathering should not be done in the same premises where the poultry is processed as natural floras from feathers and feet is added contamination on skin of the fowls during plucking and washing.
(4) The water of the scalded bath should frequently be changed to reduce the load of the flora. The scalding should be done at 125 degrees to 135 degrees for 30 seconds.
(5) The preparation tables should be covered either with stainless steel sheets or with aluminium sheets.
(6) It has been pointed out that during slaughter, dressing and cutting micro organisms come chiefly from the exterior of the poultry and its intestinal track, but that more are added from knives, clothes, air, workers, carts, boxes and equipment. Hence, the plant must follow strict sanitary conditions and requirements.
All the door and windows must be fly proof, and about 10 ppm cholorine should be added in the water for washing purposes of the equipment and tables etc.
(7) All the knives etc should be frequently washed by hot water.
After eviscerating the fowl, it should be thoroughly washed with water and then chilled.
(8) Aeromycin (chlortetra cycline) or Teramycin (oxytetra-cyclin) is used as mild preservative and about 8 ppm should be added to the chilling bath through which dressed birds are passed following evisceration lengths, the keeping time of fowl for several days.
The poultry shrinkage during processing is influenced by the kinds and classes of poultry, the sex, age, size and breed. In general shrinkage is greater in young bird and light-weight ones than in older or heavier birds. Blood generally amounts to form 3.3 to 4.8 per cent and feathers, from 4.8 to 8.5 per cent of the total carcass weight.
Freezing
Poultry should be frozen fast enough to retain most of the natural bloom or external appearance of a freshly dressed fowl, and the storage temperature should be below 0 degree F. (-18 degrees C) The relative humidity must be above 95 per cent to reduce drying of the surface. Most poultry is either frozen at about -20 degrees F. (-29 degrees C.) or in circulating air. It was found possible to keep the birds in a satisfactory condition for 10-12 months at about -20 degrees F. (-29 degrees C.) and 7-8 months at -10 degrees F. (0.23 degrees C.) With unpackaged poultry, the keeping time is limited by the change in appearance to much shorter periods. The loss of weight was found to amount to nearly 05 per cent per month for packaged poultry and 1.3 per cent per month for unpackaged birds. Colour change will occur on the surface of the product stored in the cold storage or freezer. This is due to surface dehydration and occurs on unwrapped or loosely wrapped product. The colour tends to become lighter. Refreezing is another problem. There is basically nothing wrong with refreezing; it may occasionally occur in commercial practice. The important point is that the temperature of the defrosted fowl and the length of time it is defrosted must not be sufficient to permit microbial growth.
Do not refreeze as last measure to save a product. Refreezing will increase some of the undesirable effect of freezing.
Poultry meat in special diet
Poultry meat is an ideal food for infants, young children, adolescents, adults, old people, convalescents and those attempting to control their weight. Because of its high meat yields, low serving poultry meat fits well on the menu.
Composition and nutritive value of poultry meat
Meat is a highly source of nutrients and is easily and completely digested. It is also a good source of protein and vitamins. The growth promoting value of the protein in chicken compares favourably with that of fish protein.
With growing children on mainly meat diets, the response to gain in weight or haemoglobin is greater with meat than with milk.
Poultry meat having an advantage over red meat (beef and mutton), as having a smaller percentage of fat than either beef or mutton and is therefore good dietary source for the prevention of hardening of arteries - a common ailments.
Poultry meat is economical, quick and easy to prepare and has a number of desirable nutritional and organoliptic properties. The meat is tender, easy to chew or grind, easy to digest and the flavour is mild and blends well with seasoning and other foods.
