Six Innovation Trends in Chicken Processing Technology for 2025: Driving Industry Upgrading Through "Three-Chain Synergy"

1. Welfare-Oriented Breeding: From Compliance Operation to Value Enhancement

Welfare-oriented breeding is not only the core of animal welfare protection but also a necessary investment for enterprises to achieve compliant operations, shape social image, and enhance product value. 

Case 1: Precision Stunning Technology

Based on breed differences between white-feathered and yellow-feathered broilers, differentiated standards for electrical stunning voltage and frequency are established (e.g., lower voltage for white-feathered broilers). This effectively reduces heat stress in chickens, ensuring breeding welfare while improving meat quality.

Case 2: Summer Transportation Cooling Solution

To tackle high loss rates caused by high-temperature transportation in summer, the team promoted the "online atomized spraying + three-dimensional ventilation" technology in Yancheng (Jiangsu Province) and Wuwei (Anhui Province), reducing the incidence of transportation-related issues from over 10% to a single-digit rate. It was also announced that an advanced "gym-style" facility allowing vehicle passage would be built in Guannan (Jiangsu Province) in 2025 to further optimize transportation welfare.

2. Digital Intelligence: Embedding Across the Whole Chain for Precision Quality Improvement

Digital intelligent technologies are deeply integrated into processing links to resolve production bottlenecks through precise control, driving cost reduction and efficiency enhancement in the industry:

Case 1: Machine Vision Detection System

An online detection technology for blood spots and broken-wing dermatitis has been developed. Through automated processes including image acquisition, grayscale processing, segmentation, feature extraction, and model construction, unqualified products are quickly removed from the production line with an accuracy rate of 90%. This not only ensures product quality but also provides technical support for "premium pricing for high quality."

Case 2: Grading and Cutting Solution for Yellow-Feathered Broilers

Addressing the large individual differences of yellow-feathered broilers, the team broke through the single weight-based grading model used for white-feathered broilers and developed a dual-dimensional "weight + shape" online grading system. Combined with consumption demands from different channels such as catering, it realizes automated path planning and precise cutting, maximizing product added value.

3. Green Low-Carbon Practices: Exploring Resource-Saving Processing Paths

With the goals of environmental friendliness and efficient resource utilization, a variety of low-carbon processing technologies have been developed to balance industrial development and ecological protection:

Case 1: Ultrasonic Synergistic Cleaning Technology

The cavitation effect of ultrasonic physical fields is used to remove particles and microorganisms from the chicken surface. By optimizing ultrasonic frequency, it can be combined with natural antibacterial agents such as lactic acid to achieve synergistic effects, reducing the use of chemical cleaning agents and lowering environmental impact.

Case 2: Air & Water Synergistic Pre-chilling Technology

To address high water consumption in processing enterprises, traditional "water pre-chilling" is combined with "air pre-chilling" - shortening water chilling time and enhancing air chilling effects. While significantly saving water, it precisely controls the post-slaughter maturation process of chicken by regulating the cooling temperature gradient, especially improving the quality and taste of products for high-end channels such as in-flight meals.

4. Sensory Preference Optimization: Scientifically Quantifying Quality to Meet Consumer Preferences

Scientific methods are used to quantify quality attributes of chicken (color, aroma, taste, shape) to accurately match consumer needs and drive differentiated product innovation:

Case 1: Taste Optimization of Boiled Chicken

To resolve the debate over "whether boiled chicken should be chewy or tender," nearly 2,000 consumer review data points were collected to build a "sensory wheel." It was found that most consumers prefer a tender taste; at the same time, the concept of "balancing tradition" was proposed - retaining chewy products for specific groups such as high-end hotels to achieve precise demand coverage.

Case 2: Skin Color Control of Yellow-Feathered Broilers 

Aiming at the skin discoloration of yellow-feathered broilers caused by scalding and dehairing, the threshold of yellowness distinguishable by consumers was determined based on the "just noticeable difference" model. The scalding process was then reversed and optimized to preserve the product's core selling point - its "appearance."

Case 3: Flavor Synergy Research

The synergy mechanism between spiciness and umami was revealed: under medium-to-high umami concentration, spiciness can significantly enhance umami intensity and consumer pleasure; however, the synergistic effect is poor under low or extremely high umami concentrations. This provides a scientific basis for the development of spicy chicken products.

Case 4: Flavor Optimization of Prepared Dishes

 Taking "braised chicken with mushrooms" as an example, a comparison of various mushrooms showed that traditional hazel mushrooms have the best umami-enhancing effect and maintain high flavor stability after three months of freezing - providing data support for ingredient selection in prepared dishes.

5. Clean Labeling: Reducing Artificial Ingredients with Natural Alternatives

Responding to consumers' demand for "health and naturalness," artificial ingredients in product ingredient lists are reduced, and natural alternative solutions are adopted to optimize product formulas:

Case 1: Emulsification Upgrade of Chicken Soup

To address the issues of insufficient aroma in fat-free chicken soup and easy fat aggregation after freezing, synthetic emulsifiers such as monoglycerides were abandoned. Instead, natural emulsifiers such as soy lecithin and sodium caseinate were used, ensuring system stability while aligning with the clean labeling trend.

Case 2: Salt Reduction Technology Breakthrough

To implement the salt reduction goal of "Healthy China 2030," ultrasonic technology was used to promote salt penetration for large-piece marinated chicken (e.g., Breed 817) which is difficult to season, reducing total salt usage while ensuring taste.

6. Functional Packaging: From Passive Protection to Active Intelligence

Packaging technology is upgraded to achieve a shift from "passive protection" to "active empowerment," extending product shelf life and enhancing consumer experience:

• Freshness Indicator Labels: 

Intelligent labels that change color with product freshness have been developed, allowing consumers to intuitively judge the freshness of products and enhancing consumer trust.

• Active Antibacterial Packaging: 

Antibacterial substances are integrated into packaging materials, or packaging antibacterial activity is activated by ultraviolet light, realizing active antibacterial preservation and extending product shelf life.

• Intelligent Upgrade Direction: 

Building on existing packaging containing antioxidant particles, the exploration of more consumer-perceivable intelligent packaging technologies will further enhance the functional added value of packaging.

Core Initiative: Driving Industry Upgrading Through "Three-Chain Synergy"

Professor Wang Peng emphasized that single technological breakthroughs cannot support the long-term development of the industry; deep synergy of the "industrial chain, value chain, and innovation chain" is essential:

Reference Synergy Models: Citing examples such as the whole-industry-chain integration model of Shengnong Group and the horizontal collaboration model of "planting-breeding-processing-marketing" among enterprises in some regions, he pointed out that an efficient and synergistic industrial ecosystem can be built through contractual constraints and profit-sharing mechanisms.

Suggestions for Data Connectivity: Promote full-chain data connectivity from feed, vaccines, and slaughter dates to cold chain logistics to realize product information traceability and enhance consumer trust. At the same time, relying on consumer portraits and large-model technologies, enterprises can achieve personalized customization and precise R&D, truly realizing "production driven by consumer demand."

(Note: This article is compiled and published based on content from International Animal Husbandry Website, and the copyright belongs to the original author.)