Creating value
2013
nofima.no
16
Financed by:
The Norwegian Agricultural
Authority’s organic development
initiative
Sale of pre-cooked hens has several benefits. The farmers make savings, it is good and affordable food, and food waste is reduced.
photo: Kjell J. Merok © nofima
The Armed Forces, egg producer Toten Eggpakkeri,
grocery wholesaler Norgesgruppen and Nofima are now
testing out hen fricassee as a dinner for soldiers. The
fricassee is made from organic hens that have served
their purpose on the egg laying front.
The hens are slaughtered and processed at Gårdsand
in Vestfold. The hens are then vacuum packed, simmer
at 85 °C for 10 hours and are then frozen. The Armed
Forces’ canteen receives the frozen hen bags. After de-
frosting, the hen meat is picked off the bones and put in
the cooking pot.
A rare sight:
Hens are seldom served on Norwegian
dinner tables. The main reason is that preparation takes
too long. Consequently, the scientists at Nofima asked
the question: How can hens be made more easily acces-
sible?
“In the Armed Forces, we have a goal of 15 percent
organic food and in that case organic hens will be a
good contribution. Far too much food is wasted and we
want to play a part in getting the hen back as a food
resource,” says Pål H. Stenberg, Lieutenant Commander
and Coordinator of Garrison & Combat feeding in the
Armed Forces.
Win-win situation:
In the first phase, in addition to
the Armed Forces, large-scale caterers and hospitals are
viewed as potential customers for the pre-cooked hens
in their own juices. With improvements, the partners
also envisage that sale to the grocery industry may also
be realistic.
The farmers currently pay around NOK 5 for each hen
they dispose of so, even if the farmers do not get paid
for the hens that are used for food, it will still be finan-
cially beneficial for them. If all 2.3 million former laying
hens that are currently disposed of are used for food,
the farmers will make a combined saving of NOK 11.5
million. This is in addition to the environmental savings
obtained through reduced food wastage.
Around 2.3 million edible Norwegian laying hens are disposed of
annually. Pre-cooked hens in their own juices can reduce this food waste.
Wanting hen back on the menu
