O.K. Foods to use new poultry slaughter system

Fort SmithPeople & Business in the news

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) September 9, 2010 4:05 pm 594 views 

Fort Smith-based O.K. Foods Inc. announced Thursday (Sept. 9) it will move to a new system of killing chickens at its processing plants in Fort Smith and Heavener, Okla.

The “Low Atmospheric Pressure System” works by reducing the oxygen level in poultry live-haul cages, which “causes hypoxia and a sense of euphoria similar to climbing to altitude in an airplane,” according to a statement from O.K. Foods.

“LAPS is a superior alternative to conventional electrical stunning because birds are insensible before unloading, shackling and stunning, reducing bird stress levels and eliminating animal welfare concerns as birds are introduced to the plant. The research on LAPS is set to be published in the Journal of Applied Poultry Research this winter,” noted the statement.

The system will be installed in Fort Smith later his year and in Heavener next year. Company officials would not disclose cost of installation, but did say the new method will not result in job gains or losses.

TechnoCatch LLC, Dr. Yvonne Vizzier Thaxton with

J.P. Thaxton Mississippi State University, and Scott Branton and Joseph Purswell with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, wrote about the new system in a May 4, 2007 research report to the Journal of Applied Poultry Research. A section of the report noted: “A low atmospheric pressure system (LAPS) may provide economic and safety advantages over gas based systems. The LAPS process uses atmospheric air, eliminating the need for purchase or on-site generation of process gases. Safety concerns regarding worker exposure to process gases are eliminated, and any leaks would allow air into the system, rather than discharging it.”

The American Humane Association reported Sept. 7 that it endorsed the new method of controlled-atmosphere stunning for poultry. According to the O.K. Foods statement, research on LAPS methodology was presented by lead researcher Dr. Yvonne Vizzier Thaxton at the association’s farm animal welfare Scientific Advisory Committee meeting on July 15.