The
Lincoln Premium Poultry processing facility was created
by Costco, in 2017, as an individual source of chicken for the store, to ensure that the
size and quality of their products remain consistent. Tied in with this, is the
usage of local corn and soybeans in Nebraska as feed for the birds that will be
processed. They have their own hatchery and feed mill as well. They partner with growers around the region to raise birds to 6.2 pounds.
The chicken processing system is very automated, even
including systems that number birds so the Lincoln facility can identify weight,
number, and farm origin of each bird. In poultry processing facilities, there
are various rooms and chambers for carcasses to be hung as they rotate through
each system.
The next couple of paragraphs explain the processing steps
of the birds. It is a highly automated system using both human hands and
robots. The whole process from when the birds arrive to loading them on a truck
to go out to Costco takes about 9 ½ hours.
First, as the chickens come into the plant, they are put into
a calming chamber, while remaining in large crates with other birds. From
there, they are exposed to carbon dioxide, as a way to make them unconscious,
as to obey animal welfare regulations before they are processed. Then placed on
shackles, the birds go through another system to ensure unconsciousness. From
there, carcasses will be rotated through a division until they are fully bled
out, as to not leave blood clots in the final product. There is a later process
that automatically removes internal organs-to where they will be sent down a
pipe and collected with other parts (giblets) to then be sent to another
facility to be used in non-human consumables such as pet feed. Other stations
the carcasses run through are the steaming process, where the carcass will be
heated to around 130ยบ F, then put through a feather removal machine that
rotates in the way of a carwash, as spinning towers with rubber attachments
pluck feathers from the bodies. Additionally, throughout many of the stations,
there are wash stations for the carcasses. To follow, there is a section that
cuts a portion of the leg tendon, thus causing the chicken paws (chicken feet) to
stretch out. We learned this is because chicken paws are actually one of the highest
demanded products from their facility and are desirable to sell with the toes
spread out for dishes such as frying them. After that, the shackled feet will
be removed from the body, while the body will be moved to a separate shackle,
and they will move to different areas.
In one of the many other stations, there are quality
checking employees who watch their assigned shackles (by color-there are three
colors and each checker is assigned one to assist with the most efficiency and
reduction of error probability). In the case of disease, the person will remove
the bird and then must press a white button above their head at their station,
which will then signal to any other area of the plant that also has parts of
the same bird-causing all corresponding robotic areas to drop those parts to a
disposal area. Near this section, also stationed, is an official USDA inspector,
who is qualified by the federal government to ensure quality standards of each
bird are met for consumption. There are also sections that the carcasses go
through for body chilling, and this facility uses a lesser-known method of air
chilling, instead of the most used water chilling-which causes the meat to take
in water weight. During more movement through the facility, the carcasses go
through a process of chilling, then through a longer system of maturing, for
the entire body of meat to be chilled evenly. Later, the carcasses made it to part
of the facility which was recently replaced by an almost completely robotized system
of banding the carcasses’ wings and legs together (the only one of its kind in
the world-next to a prototype in Alabama-and was manufactured in Europe). Birds
are then packaged to be loaded on trucks and taken to Costo.
It was a very unique experience to see how such a common
product is produced on such a large scale, and in a very futuristic, automated
way. It was also great to meet the nice people who seem very passionate about
this industry.
