Meat and Poultry Processing Standards

A poultry welfare policy for the site is documented and communicated (Revised)

Animal Welfare Officer(s) (AWO) must be on-site during operational hours and hold overall responsibility for poultry welfare on the site (Revised)

There must be a sufficient number of competent persons working within the lairage and slaughter areas during operational hours to care for and handle birds

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) must be in place for each operation from animal intake to confirmation of death (New)

All staff involved in the care, handling and monitoring of birds must be trained and competent

The Animal Welfare Officer (S) (AWO) must have completed an external source of training (New)

The ongoing performance of staff who care for and handle birds must be internally monitored and training updates or refresher training given as required (Revised)

Systems must be in place to ensure appropriate, competent persons are contactable out of operational hours

The AWO(s) must have access to a copy of the regulations and best practice recommendations relating to protecting the welfare of animals at the time of killing

The relevant person must contact Red Tractor and their Certification Body immediately if a serious incident or emergency situation affects or threatens to affect the welfare of birds e.g. line breakdown (Revised)

Persistent and recurring welfare incidents (poor performance) relating to a Red Tractor Assured farm and/or catching or transport member is reported to Red Tractor (New)

Welfare Outcome scoring must be undertaken and recorded on Red Tractor Assured chicken, turkey and ducks (as applicable) (Revised)

Welfare Outcome scoring is undertaken on Red Tractor Assured chicken and turkey (as applicable) as per the Red Tractor Protocol (New)

The lairage must be designed and constructed to meet the thermal requirements of birds (Revised)

Ventilation systems must be maintained and alarms regularly tested

In the event of ventilation equipment failure, contingency plans and corrective actions must be implemented

Systems for forecasting risks of temperature stress to birds in the lairage environment must be used

Systems must be in place to regularly monitor and record the temperature and humidity of the lairage and birds’ environment (Revised)

Where forecasting or monitoring identifies a risk of humidity or temperature stress, preventative or corrective action must be implemented to protect bird welfare

The lairage must be designed to allow ease of movement of crates and modules (Revised)

Birds must not be subjected to avoidable, excessive or sudden noises

The lairage must be suitably lit

The lairage must be constructed and maintained in a manner that enables effective cleansing and disinfection (Revised)

The lairage must be cleansed and disinfected regularly to minimise contamination (Revised)

A daily, visual check of the facilities used for live birds must be carried out by a competent member of staff, prior to the start of the day’s kill

Systems must be in place to ensure that birds are held in the lairage for the minimum time possible

A record of information for each load of birds is available (Revised)

A system must be in place to check Animal Transport Certificates (ATCs) and Food Chain Information (FCI) are complete and contain all required information (New)

If DOA numbers exceed 1% for chickens, 0.2% for turkeys and 0.2% for ducks in a single load of birds, the root cause established and correction action undertaken (Revised)

A system must be in place to check the health and welfare of poultry that come onto site (Revised)

Systems must be in place to check birds for signs of injury and fitness before stunning and killing (Revised)

Prompt appropriate action is undertaken in the event of health or welfare concerns being identified in the poultry checks

Birds that require emergency killing must be dealt with immediately by a competent person according to the sites documented procedure

Staff handling birds must be trained and competent

Modules and crates are unloaded in a careful manner

Modules and crates are positioned or stacked appropriately

Systems must be in place to minimise the risk of birds escaping (Revised)

Red Tractor Enhanced Welfare Assured birds must not be electrically stunned/killed where live inversion is practiced (New)

Birds must be handled appropriately at electrical stunning and killing points (Revised)

Bleeding without prior stunning is prohibited on birds/product sold with a Red Tractor Assured claim (Revised)

Electrical stunning equipment is designed to ensure an effective stun (Revised)

Birds must be checked for signs of an effective stun or kill before neck cutting

A suitable alternative method of stunning/ killing is available and ready for immediate use should the primary stunning equipment fail

Where there is a recurring need to use the stun back-up method, the line must be stopped immediately, the root cause established and corrective action undertaken

Birds must be exsanguinated without delay after stun by severing of both cartoid arteries and both jugular veins achieving a free and rapid flow of blood (Revised)

Birds must be left to bleed and no further dressing procedures (including scalding) undertaken until suspended for a time that has been verified as suficient to ensure death has supervened (Revised)

Equipment used to shackle, stun and kill must be maintained in good repair and effective working order

Electrical stunning and killing equipment must be calibrated or verified to ensure it works effectively

Birds must be handled appropriately at the stunning and killing points

Birds must be stunned and killed in accordance with legal requirements, best practice guidelines and the sites standard operating procedures

Carbon dioxide must not exceed an average maximum concentration of 30% until birds have lost consciousness (New)

Gas stunning equipment used for poultry is designed to maintain welfare and ensure an effective stun and kill

Birds must be checked for signs of an effective kill, immediately upon leaving the gas system

A contingency plan must be drawn up to include details of what action would be taken if a breakdown occurred while birds were still in the gas system, to avoid prolonged delays

A suitable back-up method of stunning or killing must be readily available at the exit to the gas system and bleed points or in the event of a CAS system breakdown (Revised)

Where there is a recurring need to use the back-up method, the line must be stopped immediately, the root cause established and corrective action undertaken

Birds must be exsanguinated or bled without delay

Birds must be left to bleed and no further dressing procedures (including scalding) undertaken until it has been verified that the bird has no signs of life

Equipment used to stun and kill birds must be maintained in good repair and effective working order

Gas stunning and killing equipment must be calibrated or verified to ensure it works effectively

Crates containing live birds must be moved carefully to the vacuum system ensuring birds remain calm (New)

LAPS stunning equipment must have a vacuum chamber enabling gradual decompression with enables the oxygen level to reduce to less than 5% (New)

Birds must be checked for signs of an effective kill, immediately upon leaving the vacuum chamber (New)

The equipment must give a clearly audible warning if the pressure deviates from required levels (New)

The site must have a contingency plan detailing the actions to be taken to avoid prolonged delays if a breakdown occurs while birds are still in the LAPS system (New)

Where there is a recurring need to use the back-up method, the line must be stopped immediately, the root cause established and corrective action undertaken (New)

On exiting the chamber birds must be bled out without delay (New)

All crates, modules and transport vehicles must be effectively cleansed and disinfected prior to leaving the site

Suitable disinfectants are used

The washing facilities must be available and useable during all times of the year that the site is operated

The washing facility must be well-managed and maintained (Revised)

Users of the wash facility must be competent

All crates, modules and transport vehicles must be checked for cleanliness, against the sites documented protocols, before leaving the site. (Revised)

Where the check identifies incomplete cleaning, the issue is rectified

All crates and modules must be checked for damage, against the sites documented protocols, before leaving the site

Where the check identifies damage that could pose a risk of injury to birds, the crate/ module must be removed

Wastes from the transport washing facility are stored and disposed of appropriately

A CCTV system must be in operation which is used to review practices and behaviours around key welfare activities