Poultry

Poultry is the second most widely eaten type of meat, and together with pork, shares over 70% of global meat consumption which makes them lucrative in private label business. This is the meat of domesticated birds that are cultivated for their meat, eggs or feathers. Most popular of them are chickens, with over 50 billions of chicken raised every year for their meat and eggs. Other types of poultry are turkey, duck, goose, pigeons, and some birds distinguished for the specific territory, such as Guinea fowl that originates from southern part of Africa. The largest producers of poultry are the United States (20%), China (16.6%), Brazil (15.1%) and the European Union (11.3%). Traditionally, birds are kept in small flocks with free range movement where they roam around freely during the day and are housed during the night. This system of poultry cultivation still exists in developing countries or in traditional organic farms. Due to global population rising and urbanization, production of poultry is produced on industrial scale in industrial barns that produce cheap and safe food available for urban communities needs.

Due to religious beliefs, many people follow rules to which meat they can and can not eat, most notable being Islamic dietary law (halal). Even though pork meat is forbidden by Islamic law, there are rules to be followed while slaughtering the animal in order for meat to be halal. Muslims make up to 24.1% of world population today and there is an immense demand for halal certified meat. . Dhabihah is the method used to slaughter an animal in Islamic tradition and it forbids use of modern practice of animal slaughter with gas or electricity. It requires cutting across the neck of the animal with a sharp blade in one clean attempt in order to sever the main blood vessels and blood has to be drained. Private label companies often offer halal certified poultry ready to be branded and sold in retail.