Seal of quality and freshness

Al Rawdah offers a full range of fresh chicken products from farm to table

As pioneers of poultry farming in the UAE, Al Rawdah is the largest producer of naturally fed fresh chicken and high-quality processed meat products in the emirates.

With a seal of quality and freshness as its trademark, most of Al Rawdah chicken go directly to supermarkets as fresh produce, while others go to a food processing plant, located minutes away from the slaughtering house.

Its entire range of frozen and chilled chicken products such as nuggets, chicken burgers, mortadella, chicken franks, breaded chicken fillet, and other processed products are made from fresh Al Rawdah chicken.

"The meat from our own fresh chicken is used in our processed products, and we strive to bring the taste of fresh chicken into our processed items as well," says Jeanette Kristensen Alhaider, General Manager Sales and Marketing, Al Rawdah.

The company has always kept the interests of the consumers first and evolved its strategies around that. Its poultry are raised on 100 per cent natural feed and allowed to live cage-free, without the use of growth hormones or antibiotics.

"Protecting animal welfare and incurring minimum environmental impact contributes to Al Rawdah's success," Alhaider adds. "Keeping in line with Halal practices, every chicken is hand slaughtered. The slaughtering process is adapted from leading global industry standards and regularly monitored by Dubai Municipality's food control inspectors."

Interestingly, Al Rawdah is the first poultry farm in the UAE to be certified Halal by the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA).

Processing capacity and certifications

Al Rawdah's 538-hectare poultry farm is located along Al Ain Road, about 40 kilometres away from Dubai, and features a processing capacity of over 45,000 birds daily. Its ultramodern production facilities are in line with international standards and boasts certifications of ISO, HACCP, Emirates Quality Mark, and Halal by ESMA.

Additionally, Al Rawdah has started producing a new variety of diversified meat products and has already launched around 30 this year. Some products are specially tailored for the food service departments, including the HORECA industry that comprises hotels, restaurants, cafes and catering companies, while the others are for retail consumption.

"We have recently ventured into the chilled processed products and developed a whole range of top-quality products for consumers. Al Rawdah is the only UAE brand using its own fresh chicken to produce everything from fresh chicken mortadella to smoked chicken; these products have proven to be very popular with our customers," Alhaider adds.

Veal, beef and turkey products created from Halal Australian beef and veal, and Halal turkey, sourced from Turkey, have also been added to the company's global product portfolio.

"Al Rawdah fresh chicken is our main product. Our whole chicken and chicken parts are what has made the Al Rawdah brand name famous over time. A constant focus on high quality and product safety is what has made us the largest poultry farm in the UAE with a 35 per cent market share," she says.

Al Rawdah has built a strong name in the sector and branched out to other countries in the Middle East. The superbrand also has partnerships in Qatar, Oman and Lebanon.

- farhana@khaleejtimes.com

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• Food and Dining
• Ramadan 2021