Company improves welfare of Kariniemen chicks

"With the new concept, we and our contract farmers together offer consumers new Kariniemen products. They will be coming out on the market in the Spring of 2018," states Heli Arantola EVP, Categories & Concepts, Head of Strategy at HKScan Corporation. With the new concept, the chicks are given water and food from the moment they hatch. The chicks are also spared stress because handling is minimal.

With the new concept, the chicks are brought to the farm as eggs shortly before they are about to hatch. They are initially warmed in a hatchery incubator, and towards the end of the incubation period they are moved to the floor of the chicken house, which is carefully heated and strewn with peat litter. The chicks hatch in the chicken house and require no further handling, as opposed to the traditional method of transporting newly hatched chicks from hatchery to chicken house.

Finland adheres to excellent standards of health care and animal welfare in the production of all livestock. Since animal diseases are prevented efficiently, all Finnish chicken farming is 100% antibiotic-free. The Finnish authorities and our strict national legislation, together with the expert input of contract farmers at all stages of HKScan’s farm-to-fork chain, ensure that the quality of Finnish meat is of the highest standard. Domestic meat comes with a guarantee of outstanding food safety. The Finnish food industry is an important source of livelihood in rural municipalities. Locally farmed food requires minimal transport and is therefore environment and climate-friendly.