Factors to consider before opening a new poultry processing unit

There is a growing interest in small scale poultry meat production. The limiting factor is getting the live animal processed for sale. Custom processing facilities are few and far between. Many people are interested in opening a poultry processing facility to meet this need, but many things need to be considered before proceeding to do so. These include things like the state and local regulations, the local demand (including which species to processing - waterfowl can be particularly troublesome), the procedures involved in custom processing, food safety concerns (developing a HACCP plan and Standard Operating Procedures, environmental testing, etc.) equipment required, labor required, disposal of waste product, building requirements, etc. Dr. Indu Upadhyaya from the University of Connecticut will be discussing some of these issues. Future webinars on discussing a HACCP plan and composting processing waste are being developed.