Pitman Family Farms is a family-owned company founded in 1954 and based in Sanger, California. It produces organic, free-range chicken, turkey, duck and goose, sold under the Mary’s, Mary’s Free Range, Sweetwater Creek, Norbest and Shelton’s brands.
As part of its various activities, Pitman Farms processes turkeys for the festive market, particularly for Thanksgiving. The processed turkeys are distributed as whole roasting birds through supermarkets for retail customers.
In this context, Pitman Farms wanted to improve the quality and appearance of the carcasses to maximise their appeal to consumers. Given consumer expectations and Pitman’s commitment to « bien-être animal », the project focused both on animal care and operator ergonomics.
Pitman Farms commissioned us to design and install a turkey reception solution to improve production conditions while taking into account its economic objectives, « bien-être animal » requirements, the need to reduce physically demanding workstations and food safety requirements.
Improved performance
Improved « bien-être animal »
The proposed solution incorporates a controlled-atmosphere stunning tunnel, as it addresses all three key challenges:
- Improving « bien-être animal »
- Improving finished product quality
- Reducing the physical demands of the hanging area
Improved working conditions
Following the gradual killing of the turkeys in the stunning tunnel, working conditions at the hanging area were improved:
- Improved productivity
- Improved working conditions (a calm, well-lit environment with reduced dust levels)
Improving food safety
The system was commissioned in October 2017