Consumers across the country are increasingly focused on how the animals that end up on their dinner plates are treated during their lifetimes. Those who raise chickens for food say they share that concern — and now the industry’s leading trade group is taking steps to back that up.
The National Chicken Council, which first created its broiler chicken welfare guidelines back in 1999, has announced an update to those standards. Along with the revisions, the organization has earned certification from a prominent animal welfare auditing authority.
The NCC’s guidelines were originally put in place to give chicken producers and processors a framework for ensuring the humane treatment of birds throughout the production process. The newly updated standards and the accompanying certification are intended to strengthen that commitment and give consumers greater confidence in how their food is raised.
