In the very early years of our company, Arthur Perdue crossbred the best available stock to provide farmers with better quality chicks. Frank Perdue made marketing history by successfully branding chicken with his name and upped the ante by developing his own breed of meatier chicken.
Now, we're the first poultry company with USDA Process Verified Programs for our fresh, all-natural chicken. At Perdue, our family and farm tradition is always in our hearts, but our innovative spirit drives us to stay ahead of our competitors.
Perdue Was at the Forefront
Establishing a product-testing lab to make sure the quality of our products consistently exceeds the high standards of the PERDUE® brand.
Developing innovative packaging, including leak-resistant packaging; modified atmosphere packing to ensure freshness; microwaveable trays and individually wrapped portions for added convenience; and tray-less packaging for fresh chicken that reduces landfill waste.
Providing nutritional labeling on packaging before it was required.
Offering consumers a money-back guarantee of satisfaction and a toll-free help line.
Equipping our trucks with satellite tracking systems to ensure on-time delivery.
Providing our associates and their dependents with access to primary health care through fully equipped on-site Wellness Centers staffed by health care providers from the community.
Building our own microbiology lab to improve bird health and food safety.
Successfully implementing a comprehensive "farm-to-fork" food safety program.
Developing the first large-scale alternative use for poultry litter.
Partnering with state and federal agencies and environmental groups to promote environmental best practices for our independent farm family partners.
Implementing green energy projects, including bio-mass boilers and one of the largest commercial solar installations on the east coast.
Implementing workplace ergonomics and associate safety programs.
The Perdue Farms Innovation Center
Our Innovation Center – a multimillion-dollar facility complete with new product development kitchens, packaging testing, consumer sensory testing – and even a USDA-approved pilot plant for test runs – houses our product research and development efforts.
Here, we develop new products for the PERDUE® brand and for customers. With consumer and commercial kitchens, we're able to take ideas from concept to plate.
Our Innovation Center is also at the heart of our efforts to provide more nutritious products (such as whole-grain breading and Child-Nutrition approved products), reduce sodium levels and focus on all-natural ingredients.
A Breed Apart: Perdue Chicken
For more than 30 years,Perdue Farms has been the only poultry company with a proprietary breed of chicken.
Through a process of selective crossbreeding, our company was able to develop a better chicken, improving upon the commercial breeds used by other poultry companies.
Although the PERDUE® chicken is famous for its broader breast and higher meat-to-bone ratio, it is also bred for vigor and resistance to disease.
Food Safety: Raising the Bar
At Perdue Farms, we're not content to rest on our record of food safety, nor is it enough to pass USDA inspections and third-party audits. We know customers and consumers put their trust in the PERDUE® name, and we're committed every day to maintaining that trust.
Our food safety efforts are focused on continuous improvement. We believe that by establishing consistent, documented programs, and by monitoring our results and using those results to drive improvement, we can ensure the safety and wholesomeness of PERDUE® products.
We maintain full traceability of the ingredients that go into our products, and of the delivery of our products to customers. If there ever is a problem with one of our products, we can respond quickly and effectively.
Our food safety programs don't start and stop the processing plant. Our efforts go back to the very first step in our breeder flocks, continue through the hatchery, into our feed mills and onto the farm with the knowledge that food safety starts with a healthier chicken.
That same attention to detail extends across every processing step, into packaging and at every point in the distribution and delivery of our projects.
