Moy Park gets world’s first poultry collecting machine

Moy Park, Northern Ireland’s largest food processing company, with 13 production sites across Northern Ireland, England, France and the Netherlands, will take delivery of the world’s first Apollo Universal Generation 2, poultry collecting machine in September.

The innovative machine is the latest advancement in technology to further increase poultry welfare and was developed through a partnership with Moy Park, NK Agricultural Service, CM and Ciemmecalabria.

David Gibson, Director of Agriculture at Moy Park says that higher welfare poultry remains at the top of Moy Park’s agenda. “Higher welfare chicken forms an important part of our business. Working with some of our key customers, we have been the pioneers in moving welfare standards forward. This year over 60% of the chicken that we will produce will exceed ACP (Assured Chicken Production) standards. They will either be organic, free range or what we call higher welfare. A key part of this higher welfare process is how the birds are collected and we are leading the way with the introduction of this new collecting machine.

“The revolutionary Apollo machine uses a series of textured, rubberised conveyor belts running at varying speeds in different directions to move the birds gently from directly in front of the machine to the baskets at the rear of the machine. The process is very quiet with noise kept at a constant, ensuring the chickens remain calm and relaxed throughout collection. In addition, health and safety and working conditions are improved for staff, and bio security standards are even further improved using the new machine.”

Gibson also said that training is a key priority for Moy Park. “In preparation for the arrival of the machine in Moy Park’s farms we are working with NK Agricultural Services to ensure all Apollo operators are accredited with an NVQ Level 3 qualification. This is a reflection of our continued focus on best practise ensuring we solidify Moy Park’s reputation as a responsible business with continued successful growth.”

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