Virtual Processing Plant
Step inside a modern poultry processing plant and follow the journey from live bird arrival to finished product. Learn how automation, data, and food-safety systems work together in a continuous processing line to deliver safe, high-quality poultry.
Click START to begin.
Start
Best in FULL SCREEN
How a Poultry Processing Plant Works
One line. One direction. One continuous process.
This virtual tour walks through a modern poultry processing plant from start to finish. You’ll see how live birds move through a single, continuous process and become finished food products in just a few hours.
Next
Processing in the Value Chain
The Step Before Consumers
The processing plant is where the poultry value chain comes together. Live birds become finished products for customers.
How does the plant show what happened upstream?
Farm performance is measured
Customer requirements are met
Payment outcomes are confirmed
From Farm to Finished Product
What Happens Inside the Plant
Processing follows a clear sequence of connected systems:
Live Handling & Processing
Primary Processing & Food Safety
Product Prep & Packaging
Why does everything move in one continuous flow?
Phase 1: Live Handling & Processing
Continue
Continue
Live Receiving
This is where live birds arrive from farms and enter the plant. The goal here is calm handling, accurate counts, and biosecure transfer onto the processing line.
How does this protect welfare and food safety?
What happens during live receiving?
What data is captured in this step?
Continue
Holding & Stunning
Calm handling prepares birds for humane processing. - Birds move from live receiving into a controlled holding area
- Lighting, airflow, and timing are managed to reduce stress and regulate line flow
- Stunning ensures birds are unconscious before slaughter, meeting welfare standards and supporting product quality
How does this step affect performance later in the plant?
What is being controlled in this area?
What is stunning and why is it required?
Continue
Slaughter & Bleeding
Continue
After stunning, birds move directly into slaughter and bleeding. This marks the transition from live handling to food production. Bleeding is carefully timed and controlled as birds continue moving forward on the line. Consistency at this stage is critical for food safety, product quality, and yield.
Why is bleed time a critical control point?
How does performance here affect yield and losses?
What is controlled during slaughter and bleeding?
Phase 2: Primary Processing & Food Safety
Continue
Scalding & Defeathering
After slaughter and bleeding, birds enter scalding and defeathering. Hot water loosens the birds feathers, then a machine removes the feathers with rotating plastic rods. This gently removes feathers without damaging meat quality. This step is tightly controlled to protect quality, food safety, and downstream yield.
What is controlled during scalding and defeathering?
How does this step impact downstream processing?
Why is consistency important at this step?
Continue
Evisceration
After feathers are removed, birds enter evisceration. During this step, internal organs are removed in a controlled and consistent manner. Evisceration is a critical food safety step and sets the stage for inspection, washing, and chilling.
What happens during evisceration?
How is food safety being considered at this step?
Why is this step highly automated?
Continue
Washing & Inspection
After evisceration, carcasses are washed and inspected to confirm they meet food safety and quality standards. Inspection is conducted under USDA oversight, with trained plant personnel and federal inspectors working together to identify defects, contamination, or process issues. Washing and inspection at this stage help ensure only acceptable product continues through the plant.
What is inspected at this stage?
Why does washing occur before chilling?
What is USDA’s role in inspection?
Continue
Chilling
Temperature control protects food safety. After inspection and washing, carcasses enter chilling. This step rapidly reduces product temperature to slow bacterial growth and protect food safety. Chilling also helps set product quality before further processing begins.
How does chilling work?
What is monitored during chilling?
Why is chilling required?
Continue
Phase 3: Product Preparation & Packaging
Continue
Cut-Up & Further Processing
After chilling, whole birds may be cut into parts or further processed based on customer specifications. This step determines final product form, yield, and value. This stage is highly automated for worker and food safety.
What happens during cut-up and further processing?
Why is this step important to yield?
What determines how product is processed?
Continue
Packaging & Labeling
Continue
Processed poultry products are packaged, labeled, and prepared for shipment. Products cannot leave the plant until inspection is complete and packaging requirements are met. Packaging protects product quality and ensures accurate identification throughout the supply chain.
What has to happen before product can leave the plant?
How does packaging protect the cold chain?
Why is packaging a food safety step?
Cold Storage & Shipping
Continue
Packaged products are stored under controlled temperatures before shipment. Maintaining the cold chain protects food safety and product quality through distribution.
How does cold storage support USDA requirements?
Why is cold storage required after packaging?
What is monitored in cold storage?
Where do these products go next?
After processing, poultry products move through refrigerated distribution to customers across the food system. From grocery stores to restaurants and foodservice operations, each product is delivered to meet quality, safety, and customer requirements. Thanks for completing the tour!
Why does everything move in one continuous flow?
A continuous flow reduces stress on birds, supports animal welfare standards, and improves meat quality downstream.
Consistent timing between steps protects yield, appearance, and product integrity.
Yield & Quality
Live Handling & Welfare
One-directional flow prevents cross-contamination by keeping clean and dirty processes separated and controlled.
Food Safety
Linear flow makes it possible to capture accurate data at each step, supporting traceability and performance measurement.
A single flow allows automation, real-time monitoring, and precise control of speed, temperature, and performance.
Efficiency & Control
Data & Traceability
Visit the Processing Floor
How are feathers repurposed?
- Feathers are collected during defeathering and moved into a separate by-product stream.
- They are commonly processed into feather meal, which is used in animal feed, fertilizer, and other industrial applications.
- Recovering feathers helps reduce waste and improves overall plant efficiency.
What is stunning?
Stunning renders birds unconscious before slaughter to protect animal welfare and meet regulatory requirements. Poultry plants may use different stunning methods, including:
- Electrical stunning – Birds pass through an electrified system before slaughter
- Controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) – Birds lose consciousness in a controlled gas environment
Regardless of the method, stunning must be effective and monitored to ensure birds are unconscious before processing continues.
Virtual Processing Plant
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Created on January 29, 2026
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Transcript
Virtual Processing Plant
Step inside a modern poultry processing plant and follow the journey from live bird arrival to finished product. Learn how automation, data, and food-safety systems work together in a continuous processing line to deliver safe, high-quality poultry.
Click START to begin.
Start
Best in FULL SCREEN
How a Poultry Processing Plant Works
One line. One direction. One continuous process.
This virtual tour walks through a modern poultry processing plant from start to finish. You’ll see how live birds move through a single, continuous process and become finished food products in just a few hours.
Next
Processing in the Value Chain
The Step Before Consumers
The processing plant is where the poultry value chain comes together. Live birds become finished products for customers.
How does the plant show what happened upstream?
Farm performance is measured
Customer requirements are met
Payment outcomes are confirmed
From Farm to Finished Product
What Happens Inside the Plant
Processing follows a clear sequence of connected systems:
Live Handling & Processing
Primary Processing & Food Safety
Product Prep & Packaging
Why does everything move in one continuous flow?
Phase 1: Live Handling & Processing
Continue
Continue
Live Receiving
This is where live birds arrive from farms and enter the plant. The goal here is calm handling, accurate counts, and biosecure transfer onto the processing line.
How does this protect welfare and food safety?
What happens during live receiving?
What data is captured in this step?
Continue
Holding & Stunning
Calm handling prepares birds for humane processing.- Birds move from live receiving into a controlled holding area
- Lighting, airflow, and timing are managed to reduce stress and regulate line flow
- Stunning ensures birds are unconscious before slaughter, meeting welfare standards and supporting product quality
How does this step affect performance later in the plant?
What is being controlled in this area?
What is stunning and why is it required?
Continue
Slaughter & Bleeding
Continue
After stunning, birds move directly into slaughter and bleeding. This marks the transition from live handling to food production. Bleeding is carefully timed and controlled as birds continue moving forward on the line. Consistency at this stage is critical for food safety, product quality, and yield.
Why is bleed time a critical control point?
How does performance here affect yield and losses?
What is controlled during slaughter and bleeding?
Phase 2: Primary Processing & Food Safety
Continue
Scalding & Defeathering
After slaughter and bleeding, birds enter scalding and defeathering. Hot water loosens the birds feathers, then a machine removes the feathers with rotating plastic rods. This gently removes feathers without damaging meat quality. This step is tightly controlled to protect quality, food safety, and downstream yield.
What is controlled during scalding and defeathering?
How does this step impact downstream processing?
Why is consistency important at this step?
Continue
Evisceration
After feathers are removed, birds enter evisceration. During this step, internal organs are removed in a controlled and consistent manner. Evisceration is a critical food safety step and sets the stage for inspection, washing, and chilling.
What happens during evisceration?
How is food safety being considered at this step?
Why is this step highly automated?
Continue
Washing & Inspection
After evisceration, carcasses are washed and inspected to confirm they meet food safety and quality standards. Inspection is conducted under USDA oversight, with trained plant personnel and federal inspectors working together to identify defects, contamination, or process issues. Washing and inspection at this stage help ensure only acceptable product continues through the plant.
What is inspected at this stage?
Why does washing occur before chilling?
What is USDA’s role in inspection?
Continue
Chilling
Temperature control protects food safety. After inspection and washing, carcasses enter chilling. This step rapidly reduces product temperature to slow bacterial growth and protect food safety. Chilling also helps set product quality before further processing begins.
How does chilling work?
What is monitored during chilling?
Why is chilling required?
Continue
Phase 3: Product Preparation & Packaging
Continue
Cut-Up & Further Processing
After chilling, whole birds may be cut into parts or further processed based on customer specifications. This step determines final product form, yield, and value. This stage is highly automated for worker and food safety.
What happens during cut-up and further processing?
Why is this step important to yield?
What determines how product is processed?
Continue
Packaging & Labeling
Continue
Processed poultry products are packaged, labeled, and prepared for shipment. Products cannot leave the plant until inspection is complete and packaging requirements are met. Packaging protects product quality and ensures accurate identification throughout the supply chain.
What has to happen before product can leave the plant?
How does packaging protect the cold chain?
Why is packaging a food safety step?
Cold Storage & Shipping
Continue
Packaged products are stored under controlled temperatures before shipment. Maintaining the cold chain protects food safety and product quality through distribution.
How does cold storage support USDA requirements?
Why is cold storage required after packaging?
What is monitored in cold storage?
Where do these products go next?
After processing, poultry products move through refrigerated distribution to customers across the food system. From grocery stores to restaurants and foodservice operations, each product is delivered to meet quality, safety, and customer requirements. Thanks for completing the tour!
Why does everything move in one continuous flow?
A continuous flow reduces stress on birds, supports animal welfare standards, and improves meat quality downstream.
Consistent timing between steps protects yield, appearance, and product integrity.
Yield & Quality
Live Handling & Welfare
One-directional flow prevents cross-contamination by keeping clean and dirty processes separated and controlled.
Food Safety
Linear flow makes it possible to capture accurate data at each step, supporting traceability and performance measurement.
A single flow allows automation, real-time monitoring, and precise control of speed, temperature, and performance.
Efficiency & Control
Data & Traceability
Visit the Processing Floor
How are feathers repurposed?
What is stunning?
Stunning renders birds unconscious before slaughter to protect animal welfare and meet regulatory requirements. Poultry plants may use different stunning methods, including:
- Controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) – Birds lose consciousness in a controlled gas environment
Regardless of the method, stunning must be effective and monitored to ensure birds are unconscious before processing continues.