The National Chicken Council recently outlined how chicken producers reduce food waste, recycle byproducts and utilize products that would otherwise be destined for landfills.
The comments were in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics. In its comments, the council emphasized several important points and areas for enhancing the National Strategy, including the use of byproducts and rendering, along with automation and transportation improvement efforts. Several current and pending regulatory policies either do or would contribute to food waste in the chicken industry, according to the organization.
The first is for the FDA to allow surplus hatchery eggs into the breaking egg market, which would reduce waste and decrease costs. The second is a proposed Salmonella Framework, which is being drafted with the goal of improving food safety –– but is not based on scientific data nor is it associated with any known public health outcomes, according to NCC.