Project Overview
Small farm air chill system
Commodities
- Animals: poultry
Practices
- Animal Production: general animal production
- Farm Business Management: whole farm planning
Proposal summary:
Water chill tanks are currently used to cool processed chickens, resulting in cross-contamination by bacteria, extra weight to the consumer, and the possibility of fecal soup absorption into the meat of the chicken. This project will build and test an inexpensive air chill system that can be built by other small farms and determine the effect of air chill processing on the speed of internal cooling, taste, tenderness, and bacterial contamination. A complete set of plans will be produced that other farmers can use. Outreach will be through newsletter articles and a web site.