Standards agency develops indigenous chicken feet standards

By George Mangula

Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has published a notice calling upon the public to comment on the suitability of the indigenous chicken feet standard- DUS 2135:2019 Chicken feet – specification for implementation.

UNBS under Technical Committee 2 Food and Agriculture, Sub Committee 12 Meat, poultry, eggs and processed products developed a draft of the indigenous chicken feet standard, prompted by increased demand for chicken feet for human consumption in Uganda, says the notice.

The Draft Uganda Standard DUS 2135:2019 Chicken feet – specification, specifies the requirements, test and sampling methods for Chicken feet including paws fit for food industries and human consumption.

It defines chicken feet as a part of the chicken leg that is cut at the joints between the femur and the tibia, consumed by humans after an outer scaly layer of the skin is removed, and that it may include the paw.

The draft standard requires the chicken feet to; be obtained from healthy poultry slaughtered in licensed premises and subjected to ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection according to the procedure prescribed in US CAC/RCP 58, be clean, safe and suitable for the intended purpose, prepared and handled in a sanitary manner and where no contamination or exposure to infectious material during handling.

Be prepared under hygienic conditions and shall be wholesome not have been subjected to any bacterial activation or fermentation

It also requires chicken feet to be free from any parasitic infestation and from scars of healed-up wounds, chicken feet pad retained and without damage, and more.

The public is free to comment on the draft starting 31st July 2019 to 29th September 2019.

“The draft can be accessed on the UNBS website using this link https://bit.ly/2T6SqF6 for review and the comments can be made using the Request letter and comment form,” says UNBS.