SFPFC's Canadian Retail Chicken Price Database

Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada ("SFPFC") is collecting Canadian price data on chicken meat being sold at retail stores.  All retail consumers and other interested persons are encouraged to help collect these Canadian chicken price data.  SFPFC believes Canadians are generally charged 50% to 300% more for chicken than the rest of the world.  These data will help prove our case (or correct our impression) that Canadians need chicken that is more affordable.

Data Entry Form:   http://goo.gl/forms/uuNKOjBY6N

This link is recommended as a bookmark on your Smart Phone so that you can access the form on your phone while you are in the grocery store, making data collection fast & simple.  This link to the form will automatically format itself to fit your screen on your Smart Phone. 

Database:                SFPFC's Canadian Retail Chicken Price Database 

Detailed Description & Instructions:

All Canadian consumers are encouraged to help collect these data.  This data will enable everybody to have instant information for Canadian consumers on the current pricing of chicken in Canadian retail stores.

What GasBuddy is for retail gasoline prices, this database will be for retail chicken prices.

Our primary interest is for raw, fresh whole chickens (ie. not cooked, not frozen).  Please concentrate your data collection efforts on raw, fresh, whole chicken, first and foremost, but we can accept pricing data on all cuts and types of chicken.

The reasons we prefer pricing on whole fresh chickens is that raw, fresh, whole chicken is usually the most widely available type of chicken across all of Canada, is one of the lowest cost chicken on $/kg basis, is perishable so it has a higher volatility in pricing, and is more competitively priced (ie. it matters if fresh chicken sells this week, unlike frozen chicken that can be stored for 6 months or more).

There are great price differences between various cuts of chicken (eg. drumsticks, thighs, wings, breast, etc.), fresh vs. frozen, seasoned, processed (eg. chicken burgers, chicken fingers, nuggets, etc.). We need accurate data on the exact description of the chicken that is for sale so we can compare price vs. the various features (eg. is the chicken organic, air chilled, Canadian raised, imported, etc.), and establish trends (ie. is it getting better, or worse?).
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SFPFC will use these data to help lobby the Chicken Mafia and all levels of government to ensure fairness for all; and safe, nutritious, & affordable chicken for Canadian consumers.

Figure 1:   Meat Inspection Legend
for Ontario Plant # 6534 (example).

Figure 2:   CFIA Meat Inspection
Legend for Establishment 429
Donald's Fine Foods, Richmond
BC), example

In the Data Collection Form (see Link above), we ask you to collect data on the Chicken Processing Plant that produced this chicken, as identified in the Meat Inspection Legend ("MIL").

Figure 1 on the left shows an example Meat Inspection Legend ("MIL") for an abattoir meat processing plant that is licensed under Ontario's Meat Regulations as Ontario Processing Plant ("PLT") # 6534.  The MIL for other Provinces will be similar.  In the Form below for Abattoir Establishment # , you would enter "6534" for this MIL.

Figure 2 above on the right shows the Meat Inspection Legend ("MIL") for a Federally Inspected Meat Processing plant that is licensed by Canadian Food Inspection Agency ("CFIA").  If this was the MIL on the chicken meat for sale, you would enter "429" for the Abattoir Establishment # in the Data Collection Form (use Link above).  In the Field for Chicken Processor, you'd enter "Donald's Fine Foods, Richmond BC".

The Federal Government and Statistics Canada collects some of this data, but it is not as detailed, and is a very limited sample size.  Harnessing the power of millions of concerned Canadian consumers will help educate the consumers, and provide the necessary data to help speed change for better chicken choices.

For example, when Fukushima spewed radiation contamination all over Japan, Tepco, the owner/operator of the nuclear power plant stonewalled, denied, and misled the citizens on how much and where the nuclear fallout actually occurred.  The Japanese government wasn't much better than Tepco, and in some ways, much worse.  Japanese citizens, with the help of Safecast and others, have filled the gap for local radiation readings and mapping of the radioactive contamination, providing the data directly to citizens over the Internet, and enabling citizens to collect their own data for their areas of interest.  See the Safecast Report  and YouTube Video  Citizens Report Fukishima Radiation Levels

This chicken price database was originally published on 2015/04/17 in SFPFC's Blog posting Canada's Retail Chicken Price Database