Processing takes place at Hazeldene’s Lockwood plant. Built in 1985, it currently processes over hundreds of thousands of chickens per week with ample capacity for future growth.

A high speed production line can process up to 9,000 birds per hour and the process takes approximately 180 minutes from beginning to completion, packed and conveyed into the cool room.

During this process, the bird spends 150 minutes in a refrigerated air chilled room, where the individual carcasses are chilled before packaging. This part of the process helps to maximize our shelf life.

Laboratory

Situated opposite our Processing Plant, the laboratory houses Quality Assurance staff, micro biologist and Veterinary staff.

QA staff conducts regular tests on all products for shelf life as well as monitoring hygiene and sanitation in plants, which is essential for the maintenance of the ISO 9002 Accreditation.

Veterinary staff deal with all livestock health related issues on site as well as visiting farms for regular monitoring.

Protein Recovery Plant

All poultry by-Products which cannot be sold for human consumption are sold to the Pet Food Industry or processed through Hazeldene’s Protein Recovery Unit on Site.