Zeagold Foods has created the most modern poultry farm in Australasia in conjunction with design specialists from Europe and the U.S.A. Every aspect of the production matrix has
been carefully evaluated from bio security, to bird welfare, human resource needs through
to the environmental impact.
As Zeagold Foods is a vertically integrated company we are able to control and manage
every element of the egg production process. This includes the production of feed, rearing
of day old chicks, egg laying, bird health, grading and packing right through to the
processing of egg products.
To produce quality products, we must begin with quality eggs. Egg quality is dependent
on two variables:
- health of the laying flock
- feed makeup and quality
Because we have absolute control of these variables, Zeagold Foods can optimise the
quality of the eggs and egg products produced. Zeagold Foods is committed to quality in
all aspects of our operation.
We manufacture in the order of 100,000 Tonnes of animal feed per annum, the majority of it going to our own hens. This feed has been produced for optimum nutrition and uses only the highest quality raw materials sourced from the finest ingredients across the world.
Manufacture of the correct balanced feed is critical and by having in-house control of our
feed supply we can assure a consistent performance. A rigorous testing & quality control programme using HACCP (hazard analysis critical control points) is in place to ensure that
the raw materials and finished feed are to the correct specifications.
We also supply a range of feed and animal health products specifically designed for the
dairy industry and other feed products for deer, sheep, pig and the equestrian markets. The feeds are produced by our sister company PCL Feeds which markets under the PCL brand name.
Zeagold Foods receives the chicks when they are one day old.
They are immediately placed in dedicated specialist rearing accommodation where their environmental, nutritional, health and welfare needs are carefully managed. A high degree of
bio-security is in place to ensure we maintain the high health
status of our flocks.
We recognise that the growth and development of our pullets is a
vital part in helping to deliver a quality fresh egg and so have in place a programme of daily checks and monitoring by trained competent staff. This includes regular monitoring of the house temperature, feed and water, ventilation and chick bodyweight.
At 17 weeks the pullets are carefully transferred to their laying accommodation ready to commence egg laying at about 19 weeks.
All our laying birds are managed to the highest welfare standards and must meet with the requirements of the Animal Welfare (Layer Hens) Code of Welfare 2005, which comes under
the Animal Welfare Act 1999.
Our modern laying farms have been designed around the best practice and technology from Europe and provide an optimum healthy, clean environment for our laying birds. In
September 1999, the Animal Product Act required egg producers to have in place a Risk Management Programme (RMP), adopting HACCP principles for laying farms, feed
production, grading and packing to ensure New Zealand eggs are safe, fresh and of the
highest quality. Zeagold Foods has in place stringent checks and procedures at all stages.
The output from our farms is well in excess of international benchmarks and our low
mortality and high standards of animal welfare are the envy of other producers throughout
the world.
The health status of the New Zealand poultry flock is the envy of many other poultry sectors across the world. We are free from some of the major poultry diseases and as such have a minimal programme of vaccinations in place to protect our birds from viral poultry diseases.
As an example New Zealand flocks would have typically two or three vaccinations which
include protection against Salmonella compared to sixteen for United Kingdom egg laying
flocks.
Our flocks are also independently checked and monitored by a vet on a monthly basis as
part of stringent health requirements in order to export product to other countries such as Singapore. We are audited regularly by international customers such as McDonalds,
Goodman Fielder and Heinz Wattie.
We recognize that effective bio-security controls and measures are important across all
points in the production chain to maintain the high health status our birds enjoy. This
includes dedicated vehicle washers & wheel sprays, shower-in facilities, dedicated
workwear, effective terminal hygiene & pest control and the manufacture of safe feed. All
of these measures help to ensure our birds remain healthy and produce a safe, quality egg.
The eggs roll from the laying sheds onto a conveyer belt which takes them to a centralized grading room. At Waikouaiti we use a MOBA 5000 to grade the eggs. This is an electronic grader which ensures precise weight grades are attained rather than weights being
determined within a ‘band’, as with mechanical graders. The MOBA also allows for more exacting detection of egg faults such as blood spots and cracks when the eggs travel
through a ‘candling’ booth.
A candling booth is a darkened area where lights
shine up through the eggs and highlight any cracks
or internal faults. Imperfect eggs are removed by the grading machine. We also have
in place new automatic candling technology using sound waves and this enables cracked
eggs to be automatically removed by the grading machine.
Each shell egg is electronically weighed and graded by weight. It is then packed into cartons
or trays which hold 6, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20 or 30 eggs. Packaging is made from moulded paper fibre.
We have quality checks & machine calibrations in place to ensure that the eggs packed for
our customers meet the required standards for freshness and are fit for purpose through our RMP obligations.
Once graded, eggs can be diverted to the egg breaking/ pasteurising plant for further
processing. Only graded quality eggs are used in the production of egg products. The
egg-processing unit enables the egg product to be pasteurised hence eliminating all
bacteria and especially salmonella.
Eggs are processed through a plant that cracks the shells and extracts the yolk and
albumen. At this stage the yolk and albumen can be separated if required. The egg then
passes through a series of filters before being treated in a pasteurisation plant. Here the
egg is raised to a temperature of 61.5°C which destroys harmful bacteria (should they be present). This process meets USDA standards. Each batch has three samples tested by
an independent laboratory.
Pasteurised egg has a number of applications for use by manufacturers (such as in the
baking industry) through to retail products, which are sold direct to the end consumer.
Zeagold Foods can supply Whole/Separated Egg Products, Powder Egg Products,
Blended Egg Products and Cooked Egg Products.
