Thailand forging ahead with
food safety
How Saha Farms regained chicken export market share
after the 2004 Avian
Flu outbreak
By Jon Fernquest 
Avian Flu was first detected in
Thailand's poultry farms in 2004.At the time, chicken exporter Saha Farms, like many exporters, focused on raw meat rather than cooked products.
Japan and the European Union imposed import bans on fresh or raw chicken meat.
After Avian Flu, Saha Farms chicken exports dropped from 100,000 per year and 20 billion baht in income to almost nothing.
Saha Farms had only been operating its nine-billion-baht poultry complex in Phetchabun for two years when the Avian Flu hit (Goldenline Business is the name of the Saha Farms subsidiary that operated the poultry complex).
food safety
- a scientific discipline that studies the handling, preparation, and
storage of food to prevent food from carying illness (See Wikipedia)
ความปลอดภัยในเรื่องการอาหารนับแต่กระบวนการการผลิต ขนส่ง
การจัดเก็บและจัดจำหน่าย
Avian Flu, bird flu - a danger virus transmitted to humans by birds (See Wikipedia and Social effects of H51N, biosecurity against Avian Flu) ไข้หวัดนก
Saha Farms - (See website)
a complex - a group of buildings used for a special purpose (for example, a medical complex)
subsidiary - a smaller company owned by a larger company
a ban - rules or laws against doing something or buying something
imposed import bans - created rules or laws preventing imports
raw - not cooked, uncooked ดิบ ยังไม่ได้ปรุง
raw chicken meat - uncooked chicken meat เนื้อไก่ดิบ
Avian Flu, bird flu - a danger virus transmitted to humans by birds (See Wikipedia and Social effects of H51N, biosecurity against Avian Flu) ไข้หวัดนก
Saha Farms - (See website)
a complex - a group of buildings used for a special purpose (for example, a medical complex)
subsidiary - a smaller company owned by a larger company
a ban - rules or laws against doing something or buying something
imposed import bans - created rules or laws preventing imports
raw - not cooked, uncooked ดิบ ยังไม่ได้ปรุง
raw chicken meat - uncooked chicken meat เนื้อไก่ดิบ
Recovery
Since 2004, Saha Farms has managed to rebuild its chicken exports by focusing on processed chicken.It took Saha Farms two years to adjust and start producing heat-treated processed chicken for export.
If the meat is subject to high temperature long enough, the Avian Flu virus is destroyed.
Exports dominate Saha Farms chicken sales. Last year, Saha Farms had sales of 18 billion baht with 10 billion baht from exports (46,000 tonnes) and 8 billion baht from domestic sales. Total Thai chicken exports last year amounted to 384,000 tonnes.
Japan and Europe are the big international markets for chicken exports. Last year Japan accounted for 45.57% of Thai chicken exports. The European Union (EU) accounted for roughly the same amount at 45.31%.
processed chicken, cooked
semi-processed meat products - meat that is cooked before it
is put in a package for sale (for example, the packaged meat products
at 7-11 which you can eat immediately)
ผลิตภัณฑ์เนื้อสัตว์ที่ผ่านการปรุงพร้อมอุ่นเพื่อรับประทาน
เช่นจำพวกอาหารแช่แข็งเป็นต้น
heat-treated - chicken meat that is heated to kill germs before it is packaged and sold
subject to high temperature - heated
food processing - methods and techniques used to turn raw ingredients into food that can be eaten by humans or animals, clean, harvested crops or slaughtered and butchered animal meat is used to produce attractive, marketable and often long-life food products (See Wikipedia) การถนอมอาหาร
heat-treated - chicken meat that is heated to kill germs before it is packaged and sold
subject to high temperature - heated
food processing - methods and techniques used to turn raw ingredients into food that can be eaten by humans or animals, clean, harvested crops or slaughtered and butchered animal meat is used to produce attractive, marketable and often long-life food products (See Wikipedia) การถนอมอาหาร
Protecting against Avian Flu
Saha Farms has adopted technology to guard against Avian Flu contamination of meat.This technology will allow the company to regain the market share in raw chicken exports that the company lost in 2004 after the Avian Flu outbreaks.
The technology is called "compartmentalisation."
Guidelines for applying the technology are set by OIE (the French acronym for the World Organisation for Animal Health) (Read previous article).
These guidelines are considered an effective safeguard to prevent bird flu and contain an outbreak.
The system calls for poultry to be raised in designated areas (compartments), with a buffer zone at least one kilometre away from the nearest community. It also prescribes improved biosecurity management and more effective surveillance against diseases (See an official diagram of a compartment above).
Saha Farms has invested in a large plot of 1,000 rai of land in Phetchabun far away from communities through its subsidiary Golden Business.
These compartments have a full capacity to supply up to one million chickens to local slaughterhouses per day for production such as as raw meat, sausages, bologna and meatballs for the local market, and ready-to-eat meals for export.
The capacity is just enough to support an export target of 100,000 tonnes if Japan gives its approval.
contamination, bacterial
contamination - การปนเปื้อนเชื้อแบคทีเรีย
market share - the percentage of sales in market that the company has (See glossary) ส่วนแบ่งของตลาด
regain the market share - when customers of the past return to buy your product
an outbreak, a disease outbreak - when people suddenly start getting the disease การแพร่ระบาดของเชื้อโรค
guidelines - directions and instructions on how to do something
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) - an internation organisation that fights animal diseases world and takes action to improve animal health worldwide, recognised by the World Trade Organisation, has 172 member countries (See website)
effective - really works, does the job that it is supposed to do
safeguard - protect
contain the outbreak - prevent the outbreak of a disease from spreading
designated areas - a special area for an activity (set aside specially)
compartments - a well-defined area where animals are kept under a biosecurity management system ส่วนต่างๆ ที่จัดสรรเพื่อป้องกันการติดเชื้อ
compartmentalization - creating compartments to contain and control some activity
a buffer zone - an area around a place, that protects things or people inside from being harmed เขตกันชน
security - protecting from harm or damage
biosecurity - policies and measures taken to protect a population from biological harm, includes the prevention of diseases, pests, and bioterrorism, and reducing their impact on the economy, the environment, public health, includes protection for the food and water supply, agriculture, pollution, and blood supply (See Wikipedia) นโยบาย หรือมาตราการการป้องกันการติดเชื้อของสัตว์ในโรงเรือน หรือในฟาร์มปศุสัตว์
surveillance - the careful watching of something การเฝ้าระวัง
surveillance against disease - carefully watching if the disease occurs การเฝ้าระวังไม่ให้เกิดโรค
slaughterhouse - (See Wikipedia)
ready-to-eat - only have to heat for short time, then you can eat (no need to cook thoroughly for a long time)
market share - the percentage of sales in market that the company has (See glossary) ส่วนแบ่งของตลาด
regain the market share - when customers of the past return to buy your product
an outbreak, a disease outbreak - when people suddenly start getting the disease การแพร่ระบาดของเชื้อโรค
guidelines - directions and instructions on how to do something
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) - an internation organisation that fights animal diseases world and takes action to improve animal health worldwide, recognised by the World Trade Organisation, has 172 member countries (See website)
effective - really works, does the job that it is supposed to do
safeguard - protect
contain the outbreak - prevent the outbreak of a disease from spreading
designated areas - a special area for an activity (set aside specially)
compartments - a well-defined area where animals are kept under a biosecurity management system ส่วนต่างๆ ที่จัดสรรเพื่อป้องกันการติดเชื้อ
compartmentalization - creating compartments to contain and control some activity
a buffer zone - an area around a place, that protects things or people inside from being harmed เขตกันชน
security - protecting from harm or damage
biosecurity - policies and measures taken to protect a population from biological harm, includes the prevention of diseases, pests, and bioterrorism, and reducing their impact on the economy, the environment, public health, includes protection for the food and water supply, agriculture, pollution, and blood supply (See Wikipedia) นโยบาย หรือมาตราการการป้องกันการติดเชื้อของสัตว์ในโรงเรือน หรือในฟาร์มปศุสัตว์
surveillance - the careful watching of something การเฝ้าระวัง
surveillance against disease - carefully watching if the disease occurs การเฝ้าระวังไม่ให้เกิดโรค
slaughterhouse - (See Wikipedia)
ready-to-eat - only have to heat for short time, then you can eat (no need to cook thoroughly for a long time)
(Source: Bangkok Post, business, 5/02/2009, Saha Farms seeks end to import bans: New facility ensures raw-chicken quality, WALAILAK KEERATIPIPATPONG, link)
