Charoen Pokphand Foods PLC (CP Foods) recommends four tips for a successful broiler business--effective disease control, animal welfare, advanced innovation and technology and employees' awareness in corporate culture, citing that these four success factors have allowed CP Foods to produce fresh and safe products and win the hearts of customers for years.
Dr. Payungsak Somyanontanakul (D.V.M.), vice president and head of Animal Welfare Committee of CP Foods, said that the company has continually strived to attain the production process that warrants internationally-accepted quality and safe chicken meat. The company has won customer recognition across the globe, including those in Japan and the European Union. The success is attributable to four principles. First, vigorous and effective disease control. In collaboration with the Department of Livestock Development, CP Foods has launched the compartment system that offers the most integrated and aggressive disease control for the entire supply chain, involving feed mill, farms and processing factories. Thanks to the compartment system, CP Foods' poultry farms became the first in Thailand to win the bird flu-free certificate.
Second, a chicken’s wellbeing. Known as “CP Happy Chicken”, the goal is to ensure fast growth and physical fitness. Genetically-strong breeds are selected through advanced scientific approaches. They are fed with nutritional food that guarantees proper growth in different stages, as in the case of human food. They are raised in favorable conditions, accordingly to the Animal Welfare’s Five Freedoms, which are freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury, and disease. Thanks to the Five Freedoms, “Chickens need no growth hormones as suggested by a long-standing misperception.”
Third, the application of innovations and technology for greater efficiency. CP Foods has introduced the Smart Farming model to handle automated farming equipment and data collection as well as applied the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data. Smart cameras are installed for the real-time and precise measurement of chicken weight as human touch may cause stress. Smart Eyes are installed to monitor chicken health and behaviors, lessening the presence of human in the barns, and hence, reducing possible contamination and supporting the animal welfare.
CP Foods has emphasized innovations to add product value. "Benja Chicken" is one example. Fed with brown rice, the chicken meat does not boast foul smell. The meat is juicy and soft with beautifully-aligned muscle fibers. Benja Chicken was certified by NSF International that no antibiotic or growth hormone is added to the feed, guaranteeing its 100% natural quality. The meat was the only item in “Raw Material Category” that won the Top Innovative Product Award at THAIFEX–World of Food Asia 2019.
CP Foods' chicken meat was granted the QS Standard, the highest food safety standard for consumers in Germany and across the European Union. This reflects CPF's ambition to produce international-standard food products for Thai consumers.
Fourth, awareness to bring society benefits under “CPF Way”. Guided by the core values, all personnel involved in the farming business are encouraged to deliver consumers safe and international-standard products.
“CP Foods has given importance to the search and application of technology and knowledge that will elevate food safety to the international standards while being friendly to the environment. We also stand ready to transfer the knowledge and the 4 success factors to farmers, so that our products as a whole are of high quality, safe and toxic-free," Dr. Payungsak concluded.
