Thailand-based protein giant CP Foods has announced that its chicken products have received the next level of food safety approvals, as one of the first in the region to be certified ‘safe for space’.
This certification was obtained in collaboration with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in the United States, one of the most well-recognised names globally in relation to outer space.
“This certification means that CP Foods has successfully raised our food safety standards for chicken to a level that it is ready to go to space with astronauts – this is what is means to have space safety standards,” CP Foods Head of International Trade Business Ekpiya Ua-wutthikrerk told us.
“This has motivated us to launch a ‘Mission to Space’ initiative which positions CP Foods chicken as a brand that meets the highest space-grade food safety standards. not only building consumer confidence but also to bolster the growth of Thailand’s chicken export industry.”
It is known that food for astronauts must undergo strict testing by NASA, covering the raw ingredients to the production process. Emphasis is placed on quality standards, nutritional value, as well as being 100% free from chemical residues.
According to the firm, the chicken needs to pass over 40 food safety tests in accordance with required criteria, including the detection of bacteria and chemical residues as well as food quality assessments.
“Right now all of these tests have been completed and space safety standards are in place for our chicken products, but soon we want to also expand these safety standards across the business to other products as well,” Ua-wutthikrerk added.
“Raising these standards across both our domestic and international businesses will be key to pave the way for Thai food products to compete more broadly in global markets.”
As it is, CP Foods chicken is not only antibiotics and chemical-free but also fed with probiotics to increase the nutritional and health benefits. All these chickens are raised in cage-free environments.
Space safety technology
As part of its rigorous food safety requirements, CP Foods has implemented a smart farming system with ‘Biosecurity High Tech Farming’ which it claims to ‘100% prevent diseases’ of the animals.
“The entire farms are computer-controlled, and a sterilising system installed at the entrance of the farm further ensures microbe control. This is in addition to our proprietary Farm Lab technologies that cover areas from energy to AI to monitor animal health and behaviour 24/7,” said the firm.
“CP is also the sole entity in Thailand that applies medical innovations used in humans to analyse and manage the well-being of our animals, both chickens and pigs, down to DNA sequencing and decoding.”
The probiotics used to feed the animals to boost health and nutrition are also carefully selected from 125,000 potential types, and real-time PCR technology is used to test and prevent disease outbreaks.”
