Poultry is the second largest meat consumption product in our country. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of residents' living standards and dietary structure, the demand for poultry has steadily increased, and the per capita consumption of poultry has gradually risen. Especially during 2018-2019, affected by the African swine fever epidemic, some pork consumption demand shifted to poultry, leading to a significant increase in its consumption. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2021, chicken production accounted for 66% of poultry; followed by duck, which accounted for about 27%. The data shows that in 2021, China's broiler production was 14.7 million tons, an increase of 100,000 tons compared to 2020.
The demand for chicken is so high, but the plucking of chicken feathers has always troubled people to some extent. In the past, people had to go through multiple steps to deal with chicken feathers, including boiling water, scalding, and plucking, which were complex and time-consuming, and the feathers on the chicken were often not completely removed. Such plucking methods may be acceptable in households, but for some chicken production manufacturers or stores, this method is completely impractical.
In light of this situation, some chicken producers have taken a risky approach by using industrial rosin for plucking. On July 12, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced 10 typical cases from the 2022 'Iron Fist' action in the livelihood sector, one of which involved the illegal use of industrial rosin in poultry plucking operations. Industrial rosin contains heavy metals and toxic compounds, and under high temperatures, toxins can enter the chicken meat, which can harm the human liver and kidneys if consumed.
With the development of technology, using a plucking machine is a more sensible choice for chicken plucking. Currently, fully automatic plucking machines on the market are generally combined with scalding machines and automatic conveyors. The machines come with a temperature control system, allowing for automatic scalding, automatic conveying, and automatic plucking. The efficient operation of the equipment can simplify the complicated process of killing and plucking chickens, and such supporting equipment generally only requires one person to operate, which helps improve plucking efficiency and reduce labor costs.
Moreover, using a plucking machine provides high stability and precision, with very few occurrences of broken wings, broken claws, or torn skin, which can effectively protect the appearance of the chicken. It is reported that a medium-sized plucking machine can complete the plucking operation for hundreds of chickens in a day, helping manufacturers save time and labor, and reduce costs.
The consumption market for chicken has great potential. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2021, the total chicken consumption in our country was 15.03 million tons. With the increasing market demand, achieving large-scale and mechanized poultry processing has become an inevitable trend. The poultry processing machinery produced by major food machinery manufacturers provides strong support for upstream slaughtering and processing of poultry.