Our value chain

Feed production

Prioritised

• Feed quality and nutritional content (feed efficiency)
• Responsible use of soy and transition to alternative and local protein sources

Our operations in Ireland include the production of our own feed. In our other markets, the feed is procured. Around 20 per cent of our chicken feed consists of imported soy. Requirements for traceability and responsible production are defined by means of various third-party certifications, but our long-term goal is to replace imported soy with alternative and local protein sources.

Parent bird breeding

Prioritised

• Animal welfare and natural living conditions
• Fossil-free energy sources for heating
• Reuse of chicken manure and waste

Our operations in Sweden include parent bird breeding. In our own and suppliers’ operations, the parent birds live in pens where light, temperature and air humidity are continuously adapted to ensure that the flocks can live in the most natural conditions possible. Most hens lay an average of one egg per day. The eggs are collected in a climate-controlled warehouse, from where they are transported to the hatchery.

Hatching

Prioritised

• Day-old chicks that thrive
• Fossil-free energy sources for heating

At the hatchery, the eggs are inspected to check that they contain an embryo. The eggs are then placed in an incubator trolley, where the temperature, air humidity and carbon-dioxide content in the air are carefully regulated. After 18 days on the incubator trolley, the eggs are placed in hatching trays to await hatching. Hatching begins on the egg’s 20th day in the hatchery and the process is completed just past the 21st day. An average of 85 per cent of the eggs yields a live chick. Once the newly hatched chicks are dry and cleaned from the remnants of the shell, it is time to transport them to a rearing farm.

Rearing

Prioritised

• Feed quality and nutritional content (feed efficiency)
• Responsible use of soy and transition to alternative and local protein sources

Scandi Standard does not operate any rearing farms itself. We have long-term partnerships with selected growers in each country. The growers’ knowledge and understanding of and respect for the chickens is crucial for good animal welfare. Regardless of modern technology and well-developed processes, their day-to-day handling and know-how are by far the most important factor in allowing their chickens to thrive and grow. The growers are well aware that thriving chickens make the best economic sense.

Rearing chickens is resource-efficient compared with other kinds of animals. The amount of feed and climate impact per kilogram of meat is lower than for pork and beef, for example. Further information is available on page 38. Chickens that receive highquality feed and are well cared for in the pens convert the feed into meat relatively quickly. What we refer to as feed efficiency is thus an indirect indicator of the feed quality and the well-being of the chickens.

Slaughtering

Prioritised

• Animal welfare and natural living conditions
• Fossil-free energy sources for heating
• Reuse of chicken manure and waste

Transport to the slaughterhouse must be as calm as possible for the chickens. The chickens are normally collected in the early morning when they are calm after a night’s rest. When they arrive at the lairage, the chickens are placed in a peaceful and dark environment for a few hours. At most of our slaughterhouses, gas stunning is used, carried out with a gradual and rising concentration of carbon dioxide. The gradual effect of gas stunning is preferable from an animal welfare perspective since the birds don’t feel discomfort. The stunning, which is irreversible, causes them to slowly become unconscious and fall asleep. Death is then caused by a machine severing their carotid artery.

Processing and packaging

Prioritised

• Day-old chicks that thrive
• Fossil-free energy sources for heating

The plucked and drawn chickens then pass through a chilling tunnel to be cooled before they are cut. The chickens that will be sold as whole chickens go directly to packaging. The other chickens move on to the mainly automated cutting process. Wings, legs and fillets are separated and either go in their natural state to packaging, or to be seasoned, where they are marinaded before being packaged. For Ready-to-Eat products, the process continues at separate plants that produce chilled, frozen and processed products.

Distribution

Prioritised

• Feed quality and nutritional content (feed efficiency)
• Responsible use of soy and transition to alternative and local protein sources

Our products reach our consumers through stores, restaurants and other catering operations, such as schools and hospitals. The products are distributed via our customers’ central warehouses and also directly to stores and restaurants. Deliveries are mainly carried out by subcontractors and sometimes by our customers’ own distributors.

Sales

Prioritised

• Animal welfare and natural living conditions
• Fossil-free energy sources for heating
• Reuse of chicken manure and waste

Our chilled products are on site in stores the day after they are packaged. Scandi Standard’s sales teams help our retailers with direct marketing of these products and also with the structuring of the display spaces in stores, in order to achieve the best sales results and to best retain product quality.

Consumptions

Prioritised

• Day-old chicks that thrive
• Fossil-free energy sources for heating

As a food, chicken is a valued and healthy source of protein with a small carbon footprint. However, chickens that are not eaten for various reasons generate food waste. Our ambition is to minimise food waste by raising awareness among consumers, adapting packaging sizes to different consumption needs and by working to increase product durability.

Read more about how we use smart and resource-efficient chicken production in the entire value chain.