Waste management and emissions in poultry processing

Abstract

A major contributor to emissions and to waste generation in food production is the poultry slaughter-processing plants, especially because one of the greatest sources of indirect emissions from food consumption in the European Union and the United States is the consumption of meat. Quantifying the effects of these emissions is crucial to the successful initiation of strategies to reduce the poultry-processing plant’s environmental footprint. Approximately 15% of poultry greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are generated from multiple sources during post-harvest operations. Operations such as bleed out, scalding and evisceration have the most significant impact on the poultry processing waste stream. The aim of this chapter is to review and analyse what is currently known about the environmental impact of conventional and non-conventional poultry production and processing and discuss where data limitations exist.