Setting the standards
Posted by Webmaster | Filed under Features, Food features, Poultry, game and meat
WORDS Lana Nowakowski
While the concern over free-range standards for egg-laying hens is heavily scrutinised, the standards for meat chickens, known as broilers, are less known. Given that the average Australian eats half their body weight in chicken each year, it’s worth looking behind the label and finding out the facts.
When you think about free-range chicken, you might imagine happy birds pottering and strutting about all day in the fresh air and warm sunshine. However, unlike with egg production, there is no standard definition of free-range chicken in Australia, so a free-range label on the chicken meat you buy in the supermarket can mean many different things.
There are two main systems in Australia for the accreditation of chicken meat: the Free Range Egg and Poultry Australia (FREPA) system, requiring one page of standards to be met; and the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme, requiring 17 pages of standards to be met.
FREPA is an industry group, comprising free-range chicken and egg producers, processors and marketers. In 2014, FREPA estimated that some 20 per cent of all chicken meat produced in Australia comes from free-range operations, with the vast majority of this free-range chicken accredited under the FREPA standards.
The RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme provides standards for two farming systems: indoor, where chickens are housed within a shed (but not caged); and outdoor, where chickens are house within a shed but have, by choice, access to an outdoor area. Both the shed and the outdoor area must meet the RSPCA standards.
If either the indoor or outdoor standards are met, the chicken can be labelled RSPCA Approved. The RSPCA, however, does not specifically accredit whether birds are free range.
Following are the key standards for chicken to qualify under the FREPA and RSPCA standards.
The pre-range in free range
Free-range chooks are only ready for an outdoor environment once they are fully feathered, which is around 3 weeks old and sometimes up to 4 weeks old.
Given that the chickens are kept indoors at night and are usually slaughtered around the age of 5 to 6 weeks old, the pre-range conditions indoors are at least as important to the quality of a free-range chicken’s life as the conditions outdoors. Who knew?
Shed conditions
The FREPA standards require the shed conditions to comply with the State Animal Welfare Code—these codes vary from state to state but are under review (see box). The RSPCA standards require extensive additional measures, including environmental enrichment and support of natural bird behaviours.
Under the RSCPA standards, perches for resting must be easily accessible, supportive of the whole foot and provided at a minimum of 2.7 metres per 1,000 birds. Good quality, dry litter must cover the shed floor to a minimum average depth of 50 milimitres, to encourage birds to engage in their natural scratching, foraging and dust bathing activities. Birds must be also provided with pecking material.
Room to move
Physically and psychologically, birds need room to move. Both FREPA and RSPCA limit shed stocking density to 28 kilograms of live birds per square metre of floor space (a full-grown chicken can be 2 to 3 kilograms so on average this is 11.2 birds per square metre. The standard for free-range egg chickens is 1 bird per square metre).
If the shed is mechanically ventilated, the FREPA maximum density is increased to 30 kilograms and the RSPCA maximum density is surprisingly increased above this to 34 kilograms per square metre.
Let there be (some) light
Effective shed systems for lighting and darkness encourage birds to be active during the day and to rest at night.
FREPA’s standards on lighting allow for continuous dim lighting if it benefits the welfare of the birds.
The RSPCA has different lighting requirements for chicks up to 7 days old and for older birds. Continuous lighting is not allowed, dim or otherwise, for chicks or older birds. The transition between light intensities must be carried out gradually, over at least 15 minutes. For chicks there can be light 23 hours a day but at least four hours of continuous total darkness must be provided each night for older birds.
The great outdoors
The FREPA standards require that free-range chickens are provided with easy access during daylight hours to an outdoor area that provides shade, shelter and vegetation for foraging in accordance with the State Animal Welfare Code. However, there is no limit on outdoor stocking densities.
The RSPCA standards require at least 8 hours of outdoor access during daylight hours each day, in an outdoor area of at least the same size as the shed floor. The outdoor area needs to provide palatable vegetation cover and at least 8 square metres of overhead shade per 1,000 birds.
Growth hormones and antibiotics
Neither the FREPA nor the RSPCA systems permit free-range birds to be given growth-promoting hormones or growth-promoting antibiotics. This is no surprise, since these types or hormones and antibiotics are not used in any Australian commercial poultry production.
Chickens may be given antibiotics if they’re being treated for their health by a vet, but they cannot be sold as free-range once they are treated.
Who’s checking?
FREPA audits are performed by an external auditor on an annual basis.
RSPCA assessments are conducted by an RSPCA assessor four times in the first year, followed by at least twice a year after that.
The future of free-range chicken
The reality of free-range chicken farming might be quite different to the version you had in mind, but knowledge is power. The more you know, the more you might find that super-cheap chicken feeling like less of a bargain.
Consumer demand for higher welfare chicken is consistently increasing in Australia, for both free-range chicken and indoor chickens and this is having a positive impact on the lives of millions of birds.
If you are really serious about eating chicken that has been produced to the highest welfare standards, a government approved organic certifying body such as Australian Certified Organic may be the one to look to. ACO is clear about its free-range standards by specifying unlimited access to outdoor areas by all birds and capped stocking rates of 2,500 to 4,800 birds per hectare (or 0.25 to 0.48 birds per square metre).
Keep up the good work by choosing chicken from a reputable organisation with standards you respect and trust.
For the the full story, grab a copy of Sprout Magazine Autumn 2018 issue at your local stockist or online.
Published at the beginning of each season, Sprout is a celebration of local food, producers and cuisine. It is about living sustainably through promoting fresh, seasonal produce from local farms and encouraging people to make a difference by growing their own food and making sustainable food choices.