Further processing is a late step in the overview of the vertically integrated poultry business. Pre cut meat, ground, breaded, marinated, fried are some examples of meats that are further processed. Some of the trimmings, byproducts from the processing plant can be used in further processing to gain the complex some money. Any meat left on the shell can be used to be grinded for chicken nuggets, sausages or hot dogs. The economics of broiler further processing and ready to eat products can be negatively affected if the primary breeder production, broiler processing, broiler breeders/hatchery complexes do not produce appropriate amount of yield. If the WOG’s in the processing plant are not acceptable due to physical defects more meat would be available for further processing.
Further processing is where we make the product more convenient as well as adding value to the product. In the meat industry, further processing means something is done to the WOG such as cut-up, deboning, marination, frying, grounded into another product. The cut-up operation is often done at the processing plant. This takes a lot of labor, but many plants use people instead of machines to minimize yield loss. Some companies will even ship the whole carcasses or parts of the carcasses to a further processing plant for specialized cut-up. Cut-up is where machines cut the whole carcass into individual parts. Deboning is where the bones are removed from specific parts to produce breast fillets or tenders. This cost the complex because it is labor intensive and the complex machinery. Metal detectors, breading applicators, fryers, breast cap deboner, high speed vacuum packaging, slicers, tenderizers are some examples of machinery I saw at IPPE that could be used at further processing plants.
Value added refers to fabricating the carcass into consumer-ready products that requires additional time or labor. These products usually involve seasoning, breading, sauces, and marinating, as well as special packaging to meet market demands for convenient products. The added value result in higher margins and profits while providing a large product choice for the consumer. Increased consumption of chicken over the years has allowed for more opportunities and new products offered. Ready to eat products are cheap and convenient. A whole bird is timely to cook, and too much food for one person. Many people want individual easy products to cook. This is why there is a large market for further processed products. Fast food, restaurants, hotels, retail stores have further processed, RTE products available for consumers. Fried chicken, chicken nuggets/tenders, and wings are a very popular southern further processed product. Further processing costs include machinery, labor and ingredients. It overall gains the complex money because the most amount of meat is being used. Adding ingredients, marination, cutting or cooking products adds value for a less cost than what it is sold for. Some companies have only stayed afloat because of their further processing operations, so it is very important for poultry complexes.
