Due to today’s high temperatures we paid a surprise visit to Plukon poultry slaughterhouse in Goor . We received a warm welcome from the quality manager and we discussed the measures Plukon is taking to reduce heat stress in poultry. We also took a brief look at the trucks as they arrived on site.
The air is cooled with water (honeycomb) in the lairage. This way the incoming air temperature can be decreased by about 5 degrees Celsius during extreme heat. Fewer containers are placed in the lairage, parked further apart and stacked only two containers high.
When temperatures reach 35 degrees Celsius, poultry may no longer be transported. Next week, when the temperatures will again be well above 30 degrees, Plukon will only slaughter until 13:00 . Fewer broilers will be slaughtered in order to prevent transport in extreme heat. Loading of transport containers will be reduced by 20%. Furthermore, there is always a driver available at Plukon who, in case of an emergency, can be deployed to drive any loaded trucks around site so that there is continuous air moving through to cool the chickens.
During our visit there was a technical issue which caused a short waiting time at the Plukon site. One truck loaded with birds had to wait in the sun. Because glitches are no exception during hot weather, we advised Plukon to create a shaded area for trucks on their terrain, paint the asphalt white to absorb heat and install a ventilation wall. If there are any issues, causing trucks to wait, the chickens will at least get some protection from the heat.
We would like to thank Plukon for their time and their transparency.
