Monday, April 12, 2004ARS chicken processing plant geared up for research
ATHENS, Ga. -- A new pilot facility allows researchers in the Agricultural Research Service's Poultry Processing & Meat Quality Research Unit to design research projects with protocols that cannot be tested in inspected, commercial facilities. The facility was constructed at the Richard B. Russell Research Center here under the "watchful eyes" of ARS food technologist Clyde Lyon and agricultural engineer J. Andra Dickens. Both recently retired from government service. Construction of the plant took about 18 months from conception to completion, with about a year needed for construction modifications and equipment installation. Simmons Engineering and Stork-Gamco Inc. supplied the equipment, with several pieces specially made. Because of limited space, the pilot facility can only process batches of chickens rather than continuous production, but part of the facility can be run at commercial speeds of up to 180 birds per minute. Since the plant's completion in September 2002, the research group has conducted two complete processing projects and numerous other projects have been completed using one or more pieces of the new equipment. The facility was designed and constructed to allow the research group to install prototype imaging equipment and technology to detect fecal contamination on processed carcasses. As this technology is refined and made ready for commercial testing, the pilot facility will allow the researchers to conduct a good field test before going into the commercial arena. According to Dickens, there can be many differences between research testing and pilot plant testing, so being able to tweak the new technology in a pilot situation can save time and money. Because the pilot plant can closely simulate commercial processing conditions, the researchers can demonstrate to industry members that the research can be commercially applicable, where appropriate. For more information, contact Sharon Durham at 301-504-1611, sdurham@ars.usda.gov.
Originally published Monday, April 12, 2004
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