FAQS / Inglewood Farms. What Makes us Different?

Inglewood Organic is located just outside the township of Inglewood in the southern Darling Downs Region of Queensland, Australia

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Once in the grow-out sheds the chickens are free-to-range with an adequate industry best amount of space.

Processing: Always keeping welfare in mind, the chickens are gathered during the early hours of the morning, and while it is still dark and the birds are in a sleepy state, they are transported to the plant. The processing plant works busily, utilising low voltage electrical system to stun birds initially, which puts them in an immobilised and unconscious state, before their main Jugular veins are mechanically severed.

Air Chilling:The majority of Conventional and Free Range processing methods involve a step called ‘Spin Chilling’. In this step, the birds are tumbled in a chlorinated ice slurry bath to rapidly reduce the core temperature of the poultry. During submersion in this Spin Chill bath, the birds can absorb a percentage of chlorinated water (approved by government legislation). By quickly reducing core temperature this way, mass production operations can begin portioning immediately.
Inglewood Organic is a Certified Organic establishment, that chooses a more natural alternative to Spin Chilling. Inglewood Organic birds are Air Chilled instead; the core temperature is reduced over time, without the inclusion of chlorine. As a result, there is a waiting period before portioning can begin, however accommodations have been made for this in the production process.
Air Chilling is the reason why Inglewood Organic chicken has a crisp and crunchy skin, that browns well while cooking. Inglewood Organic chicken also does not leech excess water in the packaging or while cooking because the birds are dry cooled in blast chillers.
Inglewood Organic must comply with food safety laws to ensure all product for human consumption is processed safely. It is a legislative requirement that all poultry processors must use chlorinated water to clean the carcass before portioning – however, this is where Inglewood Organic differs from most. Rather than submerging in chlorinated water, Inglewood Organic birds are only sprayed with solution to comply with food laws. Air Chilling is preferred to achieve a higher quality end-product, avoiding processes that cause the chicken to absorb the chlorinated water used in Spin Chill processing.

Yes, animal welfare is one of our top priorities. We do everything we can to ensure all birds are raised ethically in open barns that are surrounded by grassy pasture, for active free-ranging in the fresh air and sunshine. Living and foraging as nature intended. As per the Organic Standard’s Animal Welfare requirements, stress must be minimised at all times. Therefore, water misters and fans have been installed in the open-air barns for use on hot days, so that the birds remain comfortable during heat waves.
 

At Inglewood Organic, we feed our chickens a unique organic feed ration. The costs associated with this are significantly higher than conventional feed. This coupled with an increased cost of compliance to legislate animal welfare results in a notably higher production cost. We at Inglewood Organic believe the extra efforts are well reflected in the product quality.

Inglewood Organic Chicken has darker pink colouring compared to conventional chicken primarily because Inglewood Organic opt to Air Chill rather than Spin Chill birds. Spin Chilling uses large amounts of chlorine whilst processing – leading to a ‘bleached’ like appearance. Inglewood Organic chickens also receive a more balanced diet than ‘Corn Fed’ birds, which can have a yellow appearance.

We are certified by the ACO (Australian Certified Organic). Inglewood Organic is regularly audited to guarantee the integrity of our organic products.

With no growth promotants in the feed ration, Inglewood Organic chickens grow to maturity at nature’s pace, taking almost twice as long as other chickens. The organic way takes more time, more space and more care.

 Inglewood Organic uses only Certified Organic feed, made at the family’s own feed mill in a nearby town. This feed ration is a balanced diet, formulated especially for the farm using predominantly cereal grains grown in Australia.
 

Soy is an important component in building a protein rich diet which enables our birds to be strong and healthy. It is included in the Inglewood Organic feed for this reason. Most, if not all, other producers also utilise soy as a protein source for their livestock, too. Nonetheless, if you are in a position to grow your own chickens, the Inglewood Organic feed supplier, Country Heritage Feeds, have created a Soy Free chicken feed for those wishing to avoid soy in their diet.

 To know if the Woolworths purple Macro chicken was grown by Inglewood Organic, check the ACO code on the label is 4528.

 Absorbent pads’ or ‘soaker pads’ are commonly used in meat trays and other packaged products that contain moisture. This is the customary way to reduce excess juice from the meat travelling, especially when the package is opened – thereby reducing the risk of bacteria from spreading. Any product containing these absorbent pads must comply with the Safe Food Contact Compliant Statement, and this is the only intended use for the product. The exterior is therefore able to come into contact with food, however this product is not made for human consumption. For that reason, we do not recommend that you consume anything that has come into contact with the contents of the pads. If you have mistakenly cooked your chicken with the pad included, this is not the ‘intended use’ for the pad, and we do not recommend consumption.

Organic is more expensive because it costs significantly more to produce, ensuring superior quality and no exposure to ‘quick fix’ chemicals. There is also a higher Animal Welfare Legislation standard which leads to increased cost of compliance.

When purchasing Inglewood Organic Chicken you can be confident that the birds have not been medicated with antibiotics. Additionally we do not use Genetically Modified (GMO) feed in our chicken rations and therefore our Organic Chickens are GMO free. Antibiotics, herbicides, pesticides and GMO’s are prohibited under the organic standard and as every step of our production chain is audited and verified as Certified Organic the ACO bud logo gives that assurance that the product is free from any nasties.

View ‘Organic Vs Free Range’ page.

Completely, being organic means that Inglewood Organic chickens are free-to-range on dedicated forage pastures. At night the chickens return to large purpose built sheds, where they are kept comfortable from the elements and safe from predators.

Inglewood Organic does not participate in the Muslim halal program. This means our plant does not slaughter chickens in the manner required to be halal certified and we do not pay any money to a halal endorsing body for the halal certification mark. It is important to note that this is a separate issue and does not effect the quality of the chicken we process – it only means we are not participating in the halal program. We have a modern, well designed processing plant that humanely slaughters our chickens and we are certified organic, registered with Safe Food QLD, AQIS accredited and also maintain HACCP and WQA certifications.

 Our highest priority when it comes to distribution, is to ensure our Organic Chicken is protected, safe and therefore fit for consumption. Therefore, we seek only Food Safe accredited packaging material that has been found to be safe, practical, and smart – creating an ethical balance between what is required by law and what is sustainable. The materials we use in packaging vary between frozen and fresh product and as such, so too does the recyclability of some of the materials used. Our highest priority when it comes to distribution, is to ensure our Organic Chicken is protected, safe and therefore fit for consumption. Therefore, we seek only Food Safe accredited packaging material that has been found to be safe, practical, and smart – creating an ethical balance between what is required by law and what is sustainable. The materials we use in packaging vary between frozen and fresh product and as such, so too does the recyclability of some of the materials used. The soft plastic bags used to safeguard our whole-birds are moisture and air tight, and are recyclable throughout Australia. The rigid clear plastic trays which contain and protect our fresh chicken products are recyclable throughout most of Australia as well. In any case, not all councils have established recycling facilities for all types of plastic, therefore it is best to check with your local council as to what they accept in your recycling bin. There appears to be a South Australia Recycling page, and it may be helpful to use their guidelines. See https://nawma.sa.gov.au/material/recycling.asp for further information. Over time as new technologies come to the fore, Inglewood Organic plans to trial these new products, ensuring they are not only safe, but environmentally friendly as well. Depending on the type of products you buy, hopefully within this information you have found what you are looking for.

 MAP Packaging:  At Inglewood Organic, we aim to keep all our product as fresh as possible and have therefore chosen the state-of-the-art packaging system called “Modified Atmosphere Packaging” or MAP. It is well known that by exposing our food to ‘air’, microbes such as bacteria can make our food expire quickly and result in a wasted purchase. In order to keep our Inglewood Organic Chicken products as fresh as possible, we opt to remove the oxygen from the packaging and thereby change the ‘air’ or ‘atmosphere’ surrounding the meat; without the use harmful additives. “Modified Atmosphere Packaging” (MAP) allows us to do this by utilising a natural, inert gas compound which we use to flush out and replace the oxygen. This method significantly reduces the growth of any microbes on our fresh product and ensures the longevity of the chicken both in the supermarket and at home in your refrigerator. Therefore by modifying the surrounding ‘atmosphere’, our freshly packed chicken is protected from the air and this means you can be sure that our product is always kept at its best. In contrast to the process of vacuum sealing a product, we aim to keep our chicken in protective packaging without the compression or rigidity of other packaging varieties. In our process, there is a regulated quantity of inert gas flushed through each pack and therefore a raised or flat top seal on your chicken pack is not related to the ‘freshness’ of the chicken. We consistently monitor our packing process and are confident that we are using a safe and simple technique that keeps the bacteria at bay, ensuring you receive a premium product, ready to be cooked and enjoyed by you, and your family.