Resolving Social Issues through Our Business Nichirei Fresh
According to a 2018 survey, Japan’s self-sufficiency rate for broilers (chickens used for meat) is relatively high at 64%. However, the self-sufficiency rate for pure Japanese broiler breeders (the parents) that have been selectively bred domestically from the grandparents is only about 1-2%, based on the number of chickens shipped. Avian flu, which has spread repeatedly in Japan and abroad in recent years, has the potential to halt the import of grandparent stock. If this happens, it could devastate the domestic chicken farming industry and cause chicken dishes to disappear from Japanese dining tables.
In cooperation with an independent administrative agency in Hyogo Prefecture, we succeeded in breeding Junwakei chickens by crossing the Koyuki and Benizakura pure Japanese chicken breeds. Bred in Japan from grandparent stock, the Junwakei chicken brand was created for the domestic market for sustainable food self-sufficiency.
Using an up-to-date computer-based poultry management system, we strive to create a comfortable environment for our chickens. Since their brooding period is about 60 days, which is longer than other breeds, we take the time to raise them with care. That is why Junwakei chicken meat has the quality and deliciousness Japanese consumers demand, with tender, richly flavorful thigh meat and finely textured, soft and juicy breast meat.
Using a state-of-the-art high-speed biomass processing plant, we can produce organic fertilizer in about eight hours, rather than the three months or more required by our former fermentation-based composting method. Manure from Junwakei chickens is processed into organic fertilizer for use in cultivating the feed-use rice that is then used in their feed.
Most of the paddies we use to produce this feed-use rice are lying fallow due to rice production adjustments. The sustainable production cycle originating from Junwakei chicken is also helping to revitalize regional agriculture.
To deliver safe and reliable chicken to consumers, every aspect from receipt of chicks to poultry farming records and management of vaccines and other drugs is conducted under a strict program. This enables traceability by lot back through the genealogy to foundation stock.
Providing chicken meat with consideration for resource recycling, food sustainability and animal welfare
First Specific Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS) certification given to a poultry product for sustainability