Food Safety Magazine, February/March 2012

SPOTLIGHT: MEAT AND POULTRYBy Veny Gapud, M.S.Best Food Quality andSafety Practices for PoultryA look atFieldale Farms, apoultry productsmanufacturer andsupplier.Fieldale Farms is a privately held, familyownedcompany whose corporate headquartersis in Baldwin, GA. The company is a privatelabelpoultry products manufacturer and supplierto various foodservice companies.The fully integrated company operatesthree hatcheries, two feed mills, two slaughterfacilities, one further processing plant, one centralizedlaboratory, three water treatment facilitiesand two rendering plants. Fieldale Farms is the first poultryproducer to have its own microbiology and chemistry laboratorycertified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).The centralized laboratory accreditations are ISO 17025 for biologicaltesting, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service(FSIS) Laboratory Accreditation Program on Food Chemistryand Residue Chemistry and the Agricultural Marketing ServiceLaboratory Program. In this laboratory, approximately 25,000tests are performed monthly. The samples range from feeds,water, waste water, raw poultry, further processed, fully cooked,mechanically separated chicken, diagnostic cultures from field,environmental samples such as sponges, swabs, litter, dragswabs, chick box liners, air settling plates from hatchery, contactplates from hatchery environment andblood samples for antibody titers.As the company contracts with over 1,300broiler houses, employs around 4,400 personneland slaughters approximately 3 millionchickens per week, the need to control andoversee the safety and quality of the productsis paramount.Best Practices GoalsFieldale Farms has instituted the following above and beyondbest practices into their everyday operations with the followinggoals:• Mitigate food safety risks• Ensure high quality products• Meet customer specifications• Exceed customer expectations• Grow businessAchieving Best PracticesOur management is seriously committed to the hiring ofcompetent quality and food safety personnel and puts these in-46 F O O D S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E