Poultry Supply Research Articles

Generic model for the prediction of remaining shelf life in support of cold chain management in pork and poultry supply chains

Abstract An overall concept for a generic model to predict the remaining shelf life of meat in different steps of the supply chain was developed. It consists of three models: a shelf life model, an inter-organisational cold chain model and a temperature mapping model that includes a heat transfer model. In this concept, shelf life is predicted based on the growth of Pseudomonas sp., taking into account organisational structure, inspection scheme, technical circumstances and temperature conditions in different supply chains. Whereas the shelf life model is almost complete, further work is required to develop the two other models.

Quality assurance: a study of the primary poultry producers' perspective

PurposeQuality assurance (QA) is considered to be a proven mechanism for delivering quality of product and service. This paper seeks to analyse how poultry producers view the benefits of the implementation of QA mechanisms in the poultry supply chain.Design/methodology/approachInitially, an information audit was undertaken to examine the recent developments in the area of research. The second stage involved qualitative and quantitative primary research. The poultry producers' attitudes were collected by means of a questionnaire. Attitudes were studied on two occasions. The data obtained from the study was analysed by a comparison of two means and then calculating the standard error of the difference in means.FindingsThis research has demonstrated that producers are primarily complying with farm assurance standards in order to maintain market access. In general, they have to date seen no other organisational or financial benefit of compliance other than continuing to supply their retail customers.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations concerning sample size, and possible skewing of respondent responses are discussed.Originality/valueThis research is of academic value and of value to those working in the food supply chain.

Contractual choice and food safety strategy: Empirical findings in the Italian poultry sector

Abstract Analysis of contract choice is related here to the contracting nature of hybrid governance structures. First, recent research results on the organization of food safety supply are summarized and some remarks about contracting are proposed, providing the theoretical premises of the study. The approach of empirical analysis is concerned with transactions between farmers and processors in Italian poultry supply chains. The contract arrangement is classified as a hybrid structure, and growers’ preferences regarding contract terms are analysed by a choice experiment. Final remarks take into account the role of contract attributes in ensuring the degree of food safety, and give a tentative organizational explanation of the degree of safety supplied. Potential lines of future research are mentioned.

Globalisation: a study of the poultry‐meat supply chain

Increasing globalisation of the poultry‐meat supply chain has led to consolidation and evolution of transnational companies, whether by vertical or horizontal integration, and the development of business clusters. There are significant benefits in these economies of scale, especially improved purchasing power and greater intellectual, technological and production resources for organizations to draw upon to provide products that meet differentiated customer needs. The consumer has seen the benefit of globalisation in lower commodity food prices, wider product choice and the advent of “convenience” food. Seeks to review the key factors that have led to the globalisation of the poultry supply chain and the impact of these changes. The poultry supply chain was chosen because it is highly integrated and the research includes a literature review and an evaluation to determine how it specifically relates to the poultry supply chain. Identifies the factors that affect current and future developments in food globalisation, including: relative strength of currencies; speed of technology transfer to developing countries; tax and regulatory burden in nation states or trading groups; cost of capital and labour and its effect on competitiveness; continuing production specialization and greater differentiation between domestic and international meat trade; and concerns over production methods, food safety and hygiene standards. Analyses the impact of globalisation of the food supply chain to all sectors and will be of interest to academics and those working in food supply.

Supply Chain Design in the Food Industry

The concepts of hybrid supply chain strategies and the decoupling point are applied to a poultry supply chain experiencing high demand uncertainty in an inflexible production environment. Several solutions are proposed for this supply chain to cope with high demand uncertainty. The customer order decoupling point, the product differentiation point and the information decoupling point play a central role in these solutions. Because of specific characteristics of the poultry supply chain, the opportunities for a leagile supply chain design are limited.

2,3,7,8-Dibenzo-p-dioxins in Mined Clay Products from the United States: Evidence for Possible Natural Origin

Ball clay was the source of dioxin contamination discovered in selected chickens analyzed as part of a joint U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency national survey of the U.S. poultry supply conducted in 1997. The affected animals, which had been raised in the southern United States, represented approximately 5% of the national poultry production. All of these chickens and other animal food sources (i.e., farm-raised catfish), similarly contaminated, were fed a diet of animal feed containing ball clay as an anti-caking additive. The clay was mined in northwestern Mississippi within a geological formation referred to as the Mississippi Embayment. Individual raw and processed ball clay samples were analyzed for the presence of the 2,3,7,8-PCDDs/ -PCDFs. The average toxic equivalents (TEQs) for the raw and processed samples were 1513 and 966 ppt dw, respectively. Other mined clay-based products used in animal feeds revealed lower TEQs. All of the products exhibited either an absence of detectable concentrations of 2,3,7,8-PCDFs or concentrations 2−3 orders of magnitude lower than the PCDDs. The isomer distribution, specific isomer identification, and congener profile of the PCDDs in the clay were established and compared to known sources of dioxin contamination. Several unique features of this isomer distribution are characteristic of the clays and are distinguishable from those of other known sources. These characteristics found in prehistoric clay deposits in the United States and Germany have led to speculation attributing their presence to natural geologic processes.

Ex ante analysis of new technology: A comparison of cassava for the feed and fresh markets in Colombia

This paper estimates the expected economic benefits of investment in two alternative research programmes to improve yields of cassava in Colombia. The benefits from an industrial cassava variety for the animal feed market are compared with those from a higher quality cassava suitable for the fresh food market. A linear programming least-cost feed mix model is used to calculate the cost reduction is poultry feed due to new cassava technology. The impact of this cost reduction is traced through single equation models of poultry supply and demand in order to estimate social benefits in an ex ante consumer surplus framework. Costs of the alternative research programmes are projected and internal rates of return are calculated.

Return to Poultry Research in the United States

Two approaches are used to estimate a rate of return to investment in poultry research. The index-number approach utilizes productivity indexes to measure downward shifts in the long-run poultry supply function in order to estimate the annual value of consumer surplus, or resources saved, resulting from increased efficiency in the production of poultry products. The flow of annual net social returns is then related to the flow of annual poultry research expenditures to derive a rate of return to research. In the production-function approach, state experiment station research is included as a separate variable in an aggregate poultry production function in order to estimate the marginal product of poultry research. The results indicate that past investment in poultry research has been yielding a return of about 20 to 30 percent per year from the date of investment.

Nutrition

Watch out for Free Fatty Acid. J. Bumgarner. Poultry Supply Dealer, May, 1935.Experiments confirmed that meat scraps high in free fatty acids markedly reduced livability, feed consumption and rate of growth. Free fatty acids in themselves are not directly responsible for the injury, they do their dammage to the feed before the chicks eat it by inactivating vitamin A and D.