Chicken nuggets are almost everywhere, in almost every fast food chain and every supermarket freezer. Fried, crunchy and quickly made, they are in high demand, ranging from busy adults with no time to cook to children who adore fast food.
The Persian daily Forsat-e Emrooz published a report on production of chicken nuggets in Iran and the sector’s investment potential.
According to the report, there are many advantages to establishing a nugget production facility in Iran. The demand for fast food, including chicken nuggets, is on the rise as more and more people prefer to purchase readymade food instead of spending time cooking.
Furthermore, nuggets can be produced using nearly any kind of meat: red meat, chicken, turkey and shrimps, all of which are domestically produced.
Required Machinery
The machinery required for producing chicken nuggets are mostly manufactured domestically. The basic equipment needed to start the production process include automatic meat grinders, vacuum tumblers, trolleys for transportation, meat shaping machines, flour and frying powder coating machines, frying machines and a quick freeze machine.
Next, the nuggets have to be packaged and transferred to markets, for which a packaging machine, a printer and a labeling machine, plus a refrigerator and freezer trucks are required.
Furthermore, chicken nuggets are perishable and need to have a health and safety code. Therefore, it is mandatory to establish a small lab to determine the product’s food standards that control its protein, fat, salt and carbohydrate levels.
Production Stages
Whatever meat is going to be used, there are several steps to prepare it for production. The first stage is the overall preparation of fresh or frozen meat, which entails skinning the meat, cutting it up, deboning it, washing it and then putting it in the meat grinder.
Next comes the processing and shaping stage, which involves mixing ingredients, seasonings and other permissible additives with the meat and shaping them in different forms and sizes.
Next, they are coated with flour and frying powder before undergoing the frying process. When completely fried, they are quickly frozen, laminated and packed in cardboard boxes used specifically for food products.
Investment, Permits Required
An investment of about $440,000 is required for purchasing the initial equipment, in addition to about $100,000 for lab equipment and close to $50,000 for purchasing raw materials. This initial investment is adequate for establishing a nugget plant for producing 4,000 kilograms of chicken nuggets a day.
Furthermore, about 4,000 square meters of land are required for setting up the plant, which is best located outside the city limits.
A health permit must also be obtained from the Health Ministry, and the machinery used must be authorized by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade. The whole process of obtaining the permits and authorizations could take about six months.
