Small Scale Poultry Slaughtering Practical Guidelines (DEC 2010 - En)

DRAFT Version 1 - November 2010
Small-Scale Poultry
Slaughterhouses in Vietnam:

Practical Guidelines

Small-Scale Poultry Slaughterhouses
in Vietnam:

Practical Guidelines

DRAFT Version 1 - December 2010
(not for wide circulation)

DISCLAIMER

This manual was prepared by ASVELIS JSC in collaboration with DAI, and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development under Contract
No. EDH-I-00-05-00004-00, TO6. The authors views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for
International Development or the United States Government.
Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER I: MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION 2
1. BENEFITS OF A SMALL-SCALE POULTRY SLAUGHTERHOUSE 2
2. NOT FOR EVERYONE! 2
3. MAKING PRODUCTS AND CUSTOMERS MATCH 3
4. MAKING QUANTITIES MATCH BETWEEN FARMING, SLAUGHTERING AND MARKETING 4
5. ECONOMICS 5
CHAPTER II: DESIGN, BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT 8
6. LEGISLATION 8
7. LOCATION 9
8. DESIGN 10
9. EQUIPMENT 13
CHAPTER III: OPERATING THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE 15
10. STAFFING 15
11. BEFORE SLAUGHTERING 15
12. THE SLAUGHTERING 17
13. AFTER SLAUGHTERING 19
14. LABORATORY ANALYSES AND QUALITY CONTROL 20
15. DATA RECORDING 21

Small-Scale Poultry Slaughterhouses In Vietnam: Practical Guidelines

1
Introduction

Over the last decade, poultry carcasses have become more and more available to urban
consumers in Vietnam and this move was further strengthened following measures to
prevent Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. Three main ways are used to slaughter
poultry in Vietnam: small-scale at the house of the market retailer or at the market place;
collective slaughtering areas whereby several traders or market retailers come to
slaughter the poultry they have bought (live) or that they will sell (carcasses); and,
medium to large-scale slaughterhouses which usually supply small and large
supermarkets. However, the purchase of live poultry at wet markets by urban consumers
(who then either ask for the bird to be slaughtered at the market place or bring the bird
home for slaughtering) remains very frequent. This practice is still, by far, the most
prevalent way for rural consumers to slaughter poultry. In most cases, none of the above
models implemented in Vietnam have provided satisfactory solutions to achieve a gradual
compliance of practices with international standards in veterinary public health
(traceability; prevention of zoonotic diseases like HPAI; assessment and control of risks
related to microbial contamination of and to chemical residues in meat) as defined by the
World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the FAO-WHO Codex Alimentarius
Commission.
One slaughtering model that has not yet been widely explored in Vietnam consists of a
small-scale model that has been implemented and widely disseminated in developed
countries (especially France). This model has the following characteristics: small to
medium scale (100-200 m
2
); indoor slaughterhouse (not a slaughtering area); adequate
design, high quality building and hygienic equipment; low investment and running costs;
maximum capacity of 100 birds per hour (depending on the number of workers); proximity
to poultry farms to minimize transport of live birds; and, ownership by farmers or farmers
groups / cooperatives.
Such a model was developed and implemented by the USAID STOP AI project in 2009-
2010 in 7 provinces of northern and southern Vietnam. The project supported production,
slaughtering, and marketing of free-range poultry in northern and southern Vietnam over a
2-year period. More information about the USAID STOP AI project can be found at
www.naturallyvietnam.org.
This manual was developed at the end of the project based on major field experiences
acquired during project implementation and also from the consultation of documents, the
interaction with specialists from USA, Europe and South East Asia, and the visitation of
similar models in France. This manual is primarily intended for poultry farmers in Vietnam
who wish to engage in the slaughtering of their poultry and the direct selling of hygienic
carcasses to retailers. It will also provide valuable information for those who are in charge
of designing projects that aim at assisting the small-medium size poultry sector in
Vietnam. It covers key aspects including the elements to take into consideration before
making the decision to engage in slaughtering, the way the slaughterhouse should be
built and equipped, the economics involved, and the way the facility should be operated.
We hope you will enjoy reading this manual and find it useful. Please do not hesitate to
send us comments and questions at info@naturallyvietnam.com .

The STOP AI Team


2
Chapter I: Making the Right Decision
1. Benefits of a small-scale poultry slaughterhouse
Worldwide, the number of poultry small or medium scale farmers who slaughter their
poultry is very limited in developing countries. The main reason being that the majority of
retailers and consumers are used to buy live poultry. With the increasing urbanization,
demand for carcasses is steadily increasing in most developing countries.
Ability to capture this growing demand will be one way for poultry farmers to remain into
business or to economically perform better. Moving from selling only live birds at farm
gate to selling carcasses brings the following benefits to farmers:
- Closer relationship between farmers and consumers;
- Incomes from the value-added slaughtering remain in the rural community;
- Ensures that the high quality work done at the farm level is appreciated by the
consumer;
- Provides a model which will strengthen the organization of farmers

The establishment of small-scale slaughterhouses also brings benefits to the public
agencies in charge of improving animal health and veterinary public health. Indeed, the
association of farming and slaughtering greatly contributes to improving traceability of
animals and animal products in the event of HPAI outbreaks or product recalls.
Despite the above benefits, engaging into slaughtering and direct marketing presents a
considerable challenge for small Vietnamese farmers, and the decision needs to be
carefully taken.
2. Not for everyone!
People represent a key aspect when engaging into the process of slaughtering, especially
in countries like Vietnam with no or little experience in small-scale slaughtering and no
adequate training institutions in this area. Relationships between people will either make
the project successful or a failure, even if the product is very special and demanded by
consumers, and even if the farming stage is good.
Firstly, engaging in slaughtering activities requires a different mindset and different skills
from the farmers. Here we focus on skills specifically required for SH, despite the fact that
the same people will also be involved in the farm production of the poultry.
First, engaging in slaughtering activities in the case of the STOP AI model is far different
from the typical killing of poultry at household level, such as a family member would do
after the purchase of a live bird at the market. It is also quite different from what a factory
worker would do at a large-scale slaughterhouse. The skills involved require that a rural
person or group, usually with little training, be able to jump into an unfamiliar activity
where new management and new technical skills will both need to be acquired.
If you are not a person really eager to learn continuously over several years and to focus
on slaughtering activities in addition to farm-based work, best to stop here! This is a major
lesson learned from the USAID STOP AI project in Vietnam that the transformation from
farmer to slaughterer requires a very special, and highly motivated type of farmer.
The USAID STOP AI project demonstrated that some farmers who have a strong
motivation (for trying new techniques which may improve their product quality and their
livelihoods) are able to rapidly acquire many of the necessary skills, which include:


3
- Mastering principles of good hygiene for poultry slaughtering.
- Relationship-building with local public agency, especially the animal health / food
safety ones.
- Improved coordination of the farming stage to ensure that market needs are met
(reliable supply and adequate volume).
- Mastering the biosecurity and quality control of both the live poultry and final
products.
- Learning how to supervise the SH workers.
- Installing data recording procedures that enable traceability of the SH products
back to the farm.

The farmer/operators need to develop a balance between tolerance and strict
management of the SH staff. They must create a feeling of solidarity with the SH
workers, but still have the discipline to be able to reject live birds, reject improperly
processed carcasses, and to reprimand (or fire) undisciplined workers.
Farmers who are considering getting into the small scale slaughtering business are
encouraged to spend a few days working as interns in an existing small-scale SH, for
example, in one of the STOP AI facilities in northern or southern Vietnam.
Within the STOP AI project, the three examples below were tested:
a. Slaughterhouse privately owned by one input / service provider, living in
the same community as the poultry farmers.
b. Slaughterhouse privately owned by one poultry farmer.
c. Slaughterhouse owned by the cooperative.
All three examples were successful approaches. Choosing one of these three models
depends on factors like the people, the investment capacity etc. It also depends on
whether or not the slaughtering activity is done by the same person or entity doing the
marketing activity.
Another example that was not tested would be to have the slaughterhouse built by an
investor and rented out over 5 years or more to the farmer(s) or the cooperative. This may
be an interesting solution when the farmers or their cooperative have little access to
capital.
Classroom and on-the-job / on-site training by a specialized expert with practical hands-
on experience should also be organized and benefit not only the SH leader but all the
team members to be involved.
3. Making products and customers match
In countries like Vietnam, poultry farmers know more or less what the traders of live
poultry want to buy because they have a direct commercial relationship with these
traders. A farmer who has no experience in poultry farming will simply ask one of his/her
more experienced neighbors about what type of live poultry he should produce. A farmer
or farmer group who wants to engage in slaughtering must therefore identify the
customers who are looking for carcasses. They are rarely nearby (apart from people who
organize wedding parties) and are usually in distant cities.
For example, the most immediate and most regular customers of the STOP AI
slaughterers consisted mainly of restaurants (especially those within large-scale hotels)
catering to both Western and Vietnamese guests. The second most frequented sales
point was the Tay Ho Weekend Market in Hanoi city where families (initially mainly
westerners) would come to buy for their own family needs. Other customers joined a few
months later (hospital; meat shops etc.).


4
There is no need to expect to sign a contract with customers to ensure that they will buy
your product. As in developed countries, they do not usually do this. Therefore, it is
important to:
- Understand very well what they want (weight, price, controls, frequency of
deliveries, quantities etc.)
- Make your product conform to all of their specifications (when possible).
- Maintain the characteristics of your product. Only change if the customer is
informed well in advance and if he agrees.

In many cases, the poultry producers may think that their product is very special but then
realize that not so many want to buy it at a fair price or in sufficient quantities.
Many things at the hatchery, the farm and the slaughterhouse will influence your final
product. Therefore, there is no point to start supplying a customer (unless it is just for a
trial to get feedback from customers) if these pre-marketing steps are not carefully
prepared and can be maintained. A common problem that was observed for some of the
STOP AI producers consisted of the difficulty in getting the same day-old-chicks on a
regular basis and with acceptable health status.
4. Making quantities match between farming,
slaughtering and marketing
This aspect part is one of the most important lessons learned. In Vietnam and other
countries, several large-scale and costly slaughterhouses have been built over the last
decade without carefully looking at matching the aspects of farming, the slaughtering and
the marketing. In many cases, these SH have remained unprofitable and operate at only
20% of their capacity, even after few years.
The SH model described in this manual should be used more or less twice a week over
the entire year with the slaughtering of a minimum of 100 poultry during each session.
This means an annual production of around 10,000 poultry (100 poultry x 2 times per
week x 52 weeks). Only 6 months after the set up of the SH, three of the STOP AI SH
were already at 50% of this proposed annual production level and the number of poultry
slaughtered was continuously increasing.
Since most customers in Vietnam buying carcasses want to buy them fresh as opposed to
frozen, the ability to supply carcasses of one standard weight twice a week is therefore
essential. With the difference in the growth performances between male and female
poultry, one batch containing both males and females can be slaughtered at around 2
weeks or more (starting with males and finishing with females). However, one may be
able to slaughter both males and females at the same time if there are customers for
heavier carcasses and others for lighter carcasses.
At the minimum, the SH must be able to source live poultry of the same age every week.
To do this requires a strict organization of the farming, taking into account the number of
poultry in one batch, the number of batches simultaneously in one farm, the slaughtering
age, the number of farmers involved etc. Regularity in supplies of chicks or ducklings is
obviously a pre-condition to be able to adopt this type of strict organization.
If the SH is supplied by one single large farm (with large land area and strict biosecurity
measures to prevent contamination between the batches simultaneously raised in that
farm), then the number of batches in that farm will be high (at least 26!), since the farmer
will need to bring a new batch of chicks or ducklings every week or every 2 weeks. The
alternative, which in the STOP AI experience and within the context of a rural country like
Vietnam showed interested results, is to involve several small-scale farms, each with one


5
batch. The table below gives a range of the possible options for the organization of the
farming stage to achieve an annual slaughtering of around 10,000 chickens at 90 days of
age

A B C D
Number of chickens per batch 100 200 500 1000
Number of batch in one farm 1 1 1 1
Slaughtering Age 90 90 90 90
Number of days for vacuum period between 2 batches 15 15 15 15
Number of days in one year 365 365 365 365
Number of batches per farm & per year 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5
Number of farmers 30 15 6 3
Total Number of Batches per year 104 52 21 21
Total Number of Poultry Produced per year 10,429 10,429 10,429 20,857

Options A & B are the most adequate to have very regular supply of fresh carcasses and
suit well the Vietnamese context (with many farmers looking for income generating
activities while they have limited land availability).
Option D will be the most profitable system but limits the number of farmers to be involved
and, in the example shown, means that 50% of the poultry has to be sold alive unless
demand for carcasses increases.
5. Economics
Initial Investment
The detailed cost of the building and equipment (from the example of one of the STOP AI
small-scale slaughterhouses) is presented in the below table. The total of USD 12,000
can be summarized as follows:
- Building: 45%
- Chilling Room: 35%
- Equipment: 20%

Item Quantity Unit price Amount
Materials & Labor for building the slaughterhouse 1 4,500 4,500
White Tiles on the floor (45 m2) 45 5 225
White Tiles on the walls (100 m2) 100 5 500
Crates for transport of live chickens 10 15 150
Stunner for electro narcosis 1 370 370
Scalding Tank 1 60 60
Plucking Machine 1 360 360
Set of 4 Bleeding cones 1 170 170
Sinks & taps 7 30 210
Stainless steal tables 3 70 210
Racks to hang carcasses 1 500 500
Set of 10 knifes 1 3 3
Blow Torches 2 6 12
Gas heater 1 30 30
Chilling room 1 4,400 4,400
High pressure water machine (for cleaning) 1 200 200
Other small items 1 100 100

Total (USD) 12,000


6
The USAID STOP AI project procured the chilling room, the white tiles and the equipment
therefore contributing to a non-refundable grant of 55% of the total cost. In some cases,
the STOP AI producers were able to access a loan with preferential rate to pay for the
building of the SH.
Since the set up of such small-scale slaughterhouses is very innovative and may become
a good cost-effective way of supporting livestock farmers in supplying high-quality food
products in developing countries, it is likely that, as in Vietnam, grants and loans will
become available in other parts of Vietnam and in other developing countries.
Overall, the initial investment (USD 12,000) was assessed by most people in Vietnam as
very acceptable or low compared to the benefits it is bringing for farmers and for
consumers.
Forecasts
The main reason for poultry farmers engaging into slaughtering activities is not to make
an additional profit from this activity, but to control this stage of the food supply chain. Still,
the SH must bring a small but sufficient margin to pay back the initial investment (capital
and interest rates) and to generate some cash for the maintenance and future additional
investments.
The details of expenses and incomes for one slaughtering session of 100 birds are
presented below.


7

Weight of live chicken 1.6 kg
Price of live chicken purchased by SH 55,000 VND / kg
Number of birds slaughtered 100 birds / 1 SH session

Cost of birds puchased by SH 8,800,000 VND / 1 SH session
Electricity 20,000 VND / 1 SH session
Water 10,000 VND / 1 SH session
Detergents 5,000 VND / 1 SH session
Disinfectants 25,000 VND / 1 SH session
Gloves & hats 20,000 VND / 1 SH session
Ice 20,000 VND / 100 birds
Box for transport of carcasses 30,000 VND / 100 birds
Packaging bags 5,000 VND / 100 birds
Labels 50,000 VND / 100 birds
Labor 75,000 VND / SH session
Meat Inspection & Vet Certificate 50,000 VND / SH session

Total Expenses 9,110,000.0 VND / SH session

Weight of carcass 1.2 kg per bird
Price of carcass sold by SH
90,000 VND / kg
108,000 VND per bird
Price of offals sold by SH 3,000 VND per bird
Price of feathers 100 VND per bird
Price of head & feet 500 VND per bird
Total income per bird 111,600 VND
Number of carcasses sold 90 Birds

Total incomes 10,044,000 VND / SH session

Margin 934,000 VND / SH session
2
SH sessions per
week
52 Weeks per year

Annual Margin
97,136,000 VND / year
19,500 VND per USD
4,981 USD / year
415 USD / month


8
Chapter II: Design, Building and Equipment
6. Legislation
Before starting construction of the building, it is necessary to contact relevant local public
agencies (animal health; food safety; environment) to understand and then comply with
the legal requirements for the location, building and operation of the slaughterhouse. The
following papers will be needed:
- Land use permit
- Construction permit
- Paper showing commitment to environment protection
Once the slaughterhouse is ready to operate, these agencies will then come to check
compliance with the regulations and finally authorize the slaughterhouse to operate.

Below is list of important legal documents pertaining to hygiene and slaughtering aspects
that producers need to become familiar with:

Regulations on disease prevention and animal quarantine

No
Name and
code
Date of
issue
Title or Summary
1
61/2010/TT-
BNNPTN
25/10/2010
Circular No.61/2010/TT-BNNPTN dated
October 25
th
, 2010 detailing hygienic
standards for poultry slaughterhouses
2
85/2005/TT-
BNN
23/12/2005
Circular No. 85/2005/TT-BNN dated
December 23, 2005 guiding the
quarantine in transportation, slaughtering
and trading of poultry and poultry
products
3
163/2004/ND-
CP
07/09/2004
163/2004/ND-CP of September 7, 2004
detailing the implementation of a number
of articles of the ordinance on food
hygiene and safety
4
46/2005/QD-
BNN
25/7/2005
Promulgating a list of objects of veterinary
hygiene inspection; a list of subjects liable
to veterinary hygiene inspection; and a
list of subjects liable to veterinary hygiene
inspection and compulsory application of
veterinary hygiene standards
5
47/2005/QD-
BNN
25/7/2005
Providing for numbers of animals and
weights of animal products subject to
quarantine when being transported out of
a district and cases exempt from
quarantine
6
48/2005/QD-
BNN
25/7/2005
Providing for samples of slaughter control
mark and veterinary hygiene inspection
stamp


9

General legal documents

No Name and code
Date of
issue
Title or Summary
1 119/2008/ND-CP 28/11/2008
Decree No. 119/2008/ND-CP dated
November 28, 2008, amending and
supplementing a number of articles of
the Governments Decree No.
33/2005/ND-CP dated March 15, 2005,
detailing the implementation of a
number of articles of the Ordinance on
Animal Health
3
33/2005/ND-CP

15/3/2005
Decree No. 33/2005/ND-CP dated 15
March 2005 stipulating implementation
for some articles of Veterinary
Ordinance
4
18/2004/PL-
UBTVQH11

29/4/2004
Veterinary Ordinance No. 18/2004/PL-
UBTVQH11 dated 29 April 2004

7. Location

Below are some factors that must be taken into account when deciding the location of the
SH.
- Not too far away from the farms:
o To reduce the transport cost and time of live poultry from farms to SH. In
addition to being important for better animal welfare, for better meat quality
The slaughterhouse of ATK Mia group in Dinh Hoa, Thai
Nguyen, Vietnam

The slaughterhouse of the Go Cong Cooperative in My Tho,
Tien Giang, Vietnam


10
(stressed or tired live birds may give a lower meat quality) and to reduce
mortalities due to transport, this also allows for quick delivery of the poultry
to the SH when customers have made an urgent order.
o To have both farms and SH located in the same administrative unit (district
for example) and therefore, under the supervision of the same official
veterinarian(s). This is particularly important in some countries where each
decentralized veterinary office may have its own regulations. Also, if the
SH is located in a different district and when this district experienced an
outbreak of a contagious animal disease, the restrictions imposed on
animal movement within that district may hamper the transport of the
poultry from the farms (located in a district with no outbreak) to the SH.
- Not too close to poultry and other livestock farms
o This is to decrease the risk of contaminating farms with the live poultry to
be slaughtered. Especially important for farms with breeding flock and
hatcheries.
- Not too close to residential areas:
o To avoid nuisances to neighbors because the SH will often be operating at
night. Even worse, during power cuts, the electric generator needed to run
the chilling room will wake up the entire neighborhood.
o Also to reduce risks of transmission of infectious diseases from poultry to
humans, but this risk should have already been reduced if only poultry from
the member farms are slaughtered, as these farms have high levels of
biosecurity.
- The way the waste (especially liquids) will be managed also impacts on the
location: contamination of neighboring wells must be avoided, etc.
- Access to electricity and clean water is essential.
- Good access to the main road will also speed up the transport of carcasses to the
city.
- The minimal land area needed is close to 400 m2 (15 m x 25 m). The central part
(5 x 15 m2 = 75 m2) will be used for the building itself, while the outer area
(minimum of 5 m from each wall) will be kept empty, clean and tidy and include a
simple waste management system (collection and storage of liquids). This 400 m2
should not be surrounded by houses, offices, factories or livestock farms but by
crop / orchard / pasture fields or forest. The above recommendations can be
considered as the strict minimum. Dimensions may be higher depending on local
regulations and other factors.
8. Design
Consideration should next be given to the type and number of facilities required. The
slaughterhouse model suggested in this manual contains the following facilities:

- Reception area for live poultry (outdoor)
- Killing / Plucking room
- Evisceration room
- Chilling room
- Packaging room
- Staff restroom (wash rooms/toilet)

At least 2 entrances are required to limit contacts between clean and dirty areas. It is also
recommended to include a small administrative area to store documents, disinfectants
etc.


11

The design of the slaughterhouse allows a good hygiene management according to the
main principles below:
Separation of clean and unclean areas
The architectural drawings should pay great attention to the hygienic principles in design.
Points to watch are that clean and unclean operations are kept separate and carried
out in dedicated facilities.
A diagram showing separation principles is given below:

P
a
c
k
a
g
i
n
g

C
h
i
l
l
i
n
g

E
v
i
s
c
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

P
l
u
c
k
i
n
g

Reception
area
Rest
room


12

Dirty area includes area with activities such as receiving chickens, ante-mortem
inspection, stunning, bleeding, scalding, plucking, eviscerating, collecting by-
products, etc. It is called dirty area because of the operations carried out in it,
but it should be maintained as clean as possible!
Clean area includes area with activities such as evisceration, washing of
carcasses, post-mortem inspection, chilling, packing, etc.

Product flow
There should be minimum interference between operations. Cross flows of operations
and operators should be kept to the absolute minimum. The product flow of a small-scale
poultry slaughterhouse can be described as the following:

Floors and walls


13

- The walls and floors should be finished in tiles of high quality and laid with
excellent standards of workmanship.
- Using tiles with white color or very light color is mandatory as it allows verifying the
cleanliness of the facilities: a stain will be easy to visually detect if it is on a white
surface compared to if it is on a dark one!
9. Equipment
- The equipment to be used in a small-scale poultry processing plant must be strong
enough to last for at least 5 years.
- Equipment should be selected with a view to adaptability as far as possible.
- The equipment must conform to local standards of construction and safety. It
should have proper safety guards, maintained in full working order.
- The equipment must be designed to be cleaned properly after use. It must have
smooth surfaces, made preferably of stainless steel.
- The list of equipment and prices (when purchased in Vietnam) can be found
earlier in this manual.
- Only the stunner machine could not be found in Vietnam and was imported from
Europe.
Below are some key equipment and machinery used in the STOP AI models.

Electric Stunner

Bleeding Cones

Scalding tank Plucking Machine (Asian model)


14

Sink

Hanging rack

Table (stainless steel)

Blow torch

Chilling Room

Ice box


15
During catching, loading,
transporting and unloading,
birds have to deal with new
environments and new
sources of stress, such as
heat or cold, feed and water
withdrawal, motion, or
vibration etc. Measures should
be taken to minimize these
factors, since an excited bird
may overheat which may lead
to meat quality problems. It is
also for the welfare of the
chickens.

Chapter III: Operating the Slaughterhouse
10. Staffing
o Since this is a labor-extensive model, the number of workers can fluctuate from 2
to 6 workers, depending on numbers of chickens slaughtered.
o Staff working in the slaughterhouse can be the farmers who raised the chickens.
Whether the slaughterers are farmers or not, they still need to be trained properly
by food hygiene specialists. The less people participating in the operation, the
more profitable it becomes. In rural communities, almost anyone knows how to kill
a chicken. However, for professional slaughtering (even small-scale), the
slaughterers must do it in a humane fashion, in addition to several other work
functions on a regular basis. It is a waste of time, and irrelevant for ensuring
standardized good slaughtering practices, to hire workers on a short-term basis. A
SH must have a core team of regular workers.
o It is recommended that slaughtering workers should have health check-up on a
regular basis. Only healthy workers should work in the slaughterhouse. In case
they have any strange symptoms or sickness, they should be sent to the clinic or
hospital for diagnosis as soon as possible.
o The nomination of a SH manager or team leader is essential. He / she will in
particular need to be very strict about the implementation of the good slaughtering
practices and health/well-being of the workers.
11. Before Slaughtering

Catching chickens:
o Only healthy chickens should be
slaughtered.
o Fasting period: at the farm, the feed
should be removed 8 hours before the
slaughtering. This is to reduce the
amount of feed in the gut and therefore
to reduce the risk of gut tearing during
evisceration which would cause
contamination of the meat.
o The All-Out rule requires that the whole
poultry batch should be removed at the
same time. This is often impossible to do
because of fluctuating demand for fresh
carcasses by consumers. The emptying
of the pen is therefore done over a few
days only if absolutely necessary.
o Chickens are best caught at night or early
in the morning in the dark to limit their
stress and ease the catching.
o Birds should be picked up gently by hand
and carefully loaded into crates to
minimize stress and prevent injury.

Transportation: during transportation, chickens
are kept in crates with good ventilation and
protection from heat, cold and rain. Minimization


16
During slaughtering,
workers have to wash
their hands as instructed
after going to toilet or
after having contacts with
anything dirty.

of the transportation time also helps reduce the stress of chickens. Crates will
usually be placed on a bicycle or a motorbike.

Reception: after being unloaded carefully from the transport, chickens are kept in
crates, until the slaughtering starts. The lighting in the reception area and the
hanging area should be subdued to keep them quiet. It is preferable for meat
quality purposes, to let them rest at least 15 minutes before slaughter.

Ante-mortem meat inspection: live birds
should be carefully examined to verify
visually that there is no abnormality that
suggests a disease, a physical injury or that
an injection has been recently done. In large-
scale slaughterhouses, the ante-mortem
inspection is done by official meat inspectors
(veterinarians and technicians) specifically
trained for this task. In small-scale poultry
SH in developed countries, it would not be
economically viable for a meat inspector to
attend the slaughtering of a small number of poultry. It is therefore the
responsibility of the SH manager and workers to ensure only apparently health
animals enter the SH and to alert their local meat inspector if any suspicious cases
arise.

Pre- slaughter hygiene practices:
Make sure that floor, walls and all equipment are clean and properly
disinfected.
Before slaughtering, workers put on new
and clean clothes, clean boots and hats
that are washed every time after used or
used once only.
Staff working in the clean area of the SH
should step in a basin of disinfectant liquid
to disinfect the boots before re-entering
the clean area if they have gone outside,
to the toilet or the dirty area.
Workers must wash their hands carefully before starting and then regularly
during the slaughtering session. Staff handling carcasses should wear
gloves.


17
12. The slaughtering

STEP 1: STUNNING

After being removed from the crate, the chicken is
hung on an overhead stunning machine where it is
stunned with low voltage electrodes. Stunning
immobilizes the chicken for easier slaughtering,
provides a uniform heartbeat for better bleeding, and
relaxes the feather follicles for easier picking. This is
also to ensure that the chicken is humanely killed.

STEP 2: BLEEDING
The chicken is then put in bleeding cones and is bled with a
clean knife. Three minutes are usually required before the
heart stops beating.

STEP 3: SCALDING
Without delay (after the 3 minutes of bleeding), immerse
the chicken, head first in the scald water of 65 - 70C for
30-60 seconds while holding the bird by the shanks. The
carcass should be moved up and down and from side to
side in the scalding container to aid in more even and
STUNNING

BLEEDING
SCALDING
PLUCKING & WASHING
EVISCERATION &
WASHING
SINGEING
CHILLING
UNCLEAN AREA CLEAN AREA
The knife used to bleed or
eviscerate chickens is dipped in a
container of food-grade disinfectant
liquid after every time coming into
contact with one chicken.


18
After de-feathering, contacts between
carcasses and any surfaces (table, basin or
walls, etc.) should be strictly limited.

Waste from de-feathering and
evisceration, as well as other solid
waste must be collected in specific
baskets.

thorough scalding. The scalding water should be clean, hence should be changed
regularly after every 40-50 chickens soaked and its temperature around 65C should be
properly maintained.

STEP 4: PLUCKING and WASHING
The carcass is then put into plucking machine for de-
feathering. Workers should operate the machine in the
correct and hygienic manner to ensure no damage of the
skin, wing and leg occurred during this step.

Photo: Tub-style plucker one of the several types of
de-feathering machines available in Vietnam.

In the next step, the carcass is washed with running
water so that dirt and remaining feathers can be removed. Avoid the contact between
carcass and the sink surface to minimize cross-contamination.

After that, workers hang chickens on the pending trolley that is already located in clean
room.

STEP 5: EVISCERATION and WASHING
After de-feathering, evisceration should be carried out as
soon as possible, without unnecessary waiting. The
carcass is hung on a rack by their head and two legs
while being eviscerated. This reduces the risks of cross-
contamination in comparison with on-table evisceration.

After evisceration, for the last time, the carcass is rinsed
carefully inside and out with potable water.

STEP 6: POST-MORTEM INSPECTION
Carcasses as well as offal should be carefully
examined to verify visually that there is no abnormality
that suggests a disease, a physical injury, the
presence of things like needle or that an injection has
been recently done. In large-scale slaughterhouses,
the ante-mortem inspection is done by official meat
inspectors (veterinarians and technicians) specifically
trained for this task. In small-scale poultry SH in
developed countries, it would not be economically
viable for a meat inspector to attend the slaughtering


19
Carcasses must never fall on the
floor during the entire slaughtering
process. Those which do fall on the
floor should be discarded.

of a small number of poultry. It is therefore the responsibility of the SH manager and
workers to ensure that only carcasses with no abnormalities enter the food chain and to
alert their local meat inspector if there are any suspicious cases. In Vietnam, the local
regulation may vary but, in most cases, an official meat inspector from the District
Veterinary Station would attend each slaughtering session and delivers a certificate of
meat inspection, which will make the transfer from SH to retail legal.

STEP 7: SINGEING
A blowtorch is used to singe and remove remaining feathers. This also kills a variety of
microbes on the chickens skin, and contributes to the drying of the carcass.

STEP 8: CHILLING
Carcasses are immediately put in a chilling room and
are air-chilled on racks in an insulated room for at
least 2 hours. The objective is to bring the
temperature of the meat (inside the carcass) to 0-4
degrees Celsius as quickly as possible. The longer it
takes for the meat to cool down, the more bacteria
will start to grow on and in the carcass. This step of
immediate and strong chilling has a direct impact on
the shelf life of the meat.
Careful disposition of the carcasses in the chilling
room should also aim at a good drying process and
at avoiding contact between carcasses.

13. After slaughtering
Packaging: Simple packaging can be done at the slaughterhouse or at the
wholesale shop. To avoid re-contamination
of the carcasses with microbes, workers
should wear very clean clothes, gloves and
hats.

Labeling: Chicken carcasses must be
labeled and packaged before being
delivered to customers. Contents of the
label should include product name,
producers name and address, product
original, weight, production date, expiry
date, usage and storage.


20

Transport and Cold chain: the low temperature of carcasses must be maintained
until they are sold to consumers. Carcasses can be placed in clean isothermal /
insulated boxes. Small pieces of ice should be placed inside and be in contact with
each part of each carcass. Attention must be paid to avoid that the melting ice is in
direct contact with the carcasses (this can be avoided if the carcasses are well
packed under plastic). Within the STOP AI project, and with the strict application of
the above principles, carcasses remained at an acceptable low temperature even
12 hours after departing the SH. Upon arrival at the delivery point, carcasses
should be moved immediately into refrigerating equipment or prepared for
cooking.

Post-slaughter Hygiene Practices:
Floor, walls and all the equipment and tools used in slaughterhouse must be washed
after each slaughtering session with pressure water hose, then with soak / detergent
and then disinfected. Clothes used in slaughter are also thoroughly washed. Small
tools can be gathered in a basket for cleaning. Clean sponges and appropriate
brushes are used during this step.

Waste should be collected. In developing countries, the waste is much less than in
developed countries because feet, head, neck and most offal will be sold for human
consumption. The waste therefore consists of (1) liquid components (water, blood,
feces) and (2) solid components (feathers mainly).
14. Laboratory analyses and quality control
Controlling the quality of the process and the product is something that the SH manager
should organize. For a small-scale slaughterhouse, it can first be done internally but some
customers may ask a third party to verify that quality control is adequately and effectively
done or they may do it themselves.

Simple procedures for each major activity conducted in the SH should be written, carefully
explained to the workers and their implementation should be documented.

It is also necessary to have regular laboratory analysis concerning:
- The quality of the water used.
- The microbial contamination of carcasses immediately after slaughtering
and after transportation.
- The contamination of carcasses by chemical residues like antimicrobials.
- The level of contamination of the liquid waste.


21

Laboratory analyses are not only tasks that the SH has to organize because of the
regulations about environment protection and food safety. They may also be useful
convincing evidence of quality that the customers will be glad to see. The results enable
both farmers and slaughterers to verify how safe their activities are and to decide what
improvements need to be made.
15. Data recording
It is important for the slaughterhouse manager to have a proper record keeping system, in
which data regarding chicken batches slaughtered should be detailed and archived for the
purpose of management and traceability. Meat inspectors may choose to check these
records during their visits.

16. Waste treatment
As required, the slaughterhouse owner needs to submit a waste treatment scheme for the
slaughterhouse to relevant environmental agencies at local level in order to get their
approval for slaughtering operation.
Waste treatment is beyond the scope of this document, however. In this manual, it is
briefly mentioned to give some idea of how it could be designed in order to ensure
compliance with local environmental laws:

Source/Type Treatment option
Solid by-products Feathers, unused
viscera

Feather can be collected by local
waste collection & treatment
services
Unwanted viscera can be utilized
for feeding pigs/fish

Effluent Bird droppings,
blood; wash-down of
the dry-plucked bird
and that of the plant
and staff facilities

Anaerobic treatment: through a
sewage system, effluent is, taken
to closed container where there is
an enforced absence of oxygen,
which helps break down the solids.
This principle is similar to that of a
biogas plant, but the idea here is
not to collect gas for cooking but to
treat the effluent (the effluent from
the SH is low in carbohydrates and
high in nitrogenous compounds,
thus not productive for
inflammable gas).
REFERENCES

1. Anne Fanatico (2003). Small-scale Poultry Processing. Retrieved on
October 10, 2010, from http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/poultryprocess.html

2. D. Silverside, M. Jones (1998). Small-scale poultry processing (FAO).
Retrieved on October 1, 2010 from
http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/t0561e/t0561e00.htm

3. Ngoc Anh Nguyen (2010). Internship Report: Analysis of economic
performance of STOP AI poultry supply chains in the North of Vietnam.
Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management.

4. Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (2010). Circular
No.61/2010/TT-BNNPTN dated October 25th, 2010 detailing hygienic
standards for poultry slaughterhouses

5. Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry
Point. List of regulations on animal health. Retrieved on October 5, 2010
from: http://www.spsvietnam.gov.vn/EnglishSPS/Pages/Laws and
regulation-Animal health.aspx

6. Dr. I. Mann (1984). Guildelines on small slaughterhouses and meat hygiene
for developing country (WHO) from: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/pre-
wholis/VPH_83.56.pdf

7. Anne Fanatico, David Redhage (2002). Growing Your Range Poultry
Business: An Entrepreneurs Toolbox. Retrieved on October 5, 2010 from:
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/poultrytoolbox.pdf

8. The Stamping Out Pandemic and Avian Influenza Project in Vietnam
(2010). Good Slaughtering Practices.

Small Scale Poultry Slaughtering Practical Guidelines (DEC 2010 - En)

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