How TRANSAVIA produces chicken food in a sustainable way
„We are the only producer in Romania in our sector that has its own „From farm to fork” facilities, meaning we cultivate sunflower for the chicks' feed, which we process in our own compound feed mill. ”All chicks come from our farms; we have hatcheries, breeding farms, rearing farms, our own slaughterhouses, a processing plant, laboratories where we check the quality of the chicks' feed, and our own fleet," Tulia specifies.
Starting this year, TRANSAVIA will expand its „From grain to fork” program, which will now also include „to bowl”. What does this mean? The company will process products not intended for human consumption and transform them into pet food, specifically for dogs and cats.
Julia also says that TRANSAVIA is the company with the highest profit in its sector, both in Romania and in the region, and this is due to the efficient way in which the farms and factories operate.
Everything starts from the vision of the company's founder, who has established a „zero waste” mindset, so at TRANSAVIA there is no sustainability department and this term is generally not used within the company. The reason is that at TRANSAVIA, „sustainability” is part of the norm, as Tulia Cășvean says.
„Then it is normal to turn off the light, it is normal not to throw anything away, it is normal to think proactively about how you can capitalize on things, and that is why our profitability is at this level, she also says.
How TRANSAVIA ensures that nothing goes to waste in the production process
The company's philosophy and well-optimized processes allow it to capitalize on all resources and raw materials so that they are transformed into food or non-food products to be used in internal processes. „Let's take the example of the grains we grow to feed the chicks. After they are harvested, straw remains. We take the straw and use it as bedding for the chicks on our farms, specifies the TRANSAVIA representative.
Between the broiler flocks raised on the farms, the respective bedding is properly sanitized, and its monitoring is done using sensors. The bedding that the company uses has a limited lifecycle, so after it has fulfilled this purpose, it is properly treated and used as fertilizer for future grain crops.
Also, TRANSAVIA is currently investing in what could be the largest protein meal factory in Romania, meaning food products for animal feed production, obtained from the by-products remaining after the slaughter of chickens. Not being intended for human consumption, they can be processed into pet food.
The residual wastewater resulting from production is filtered, and the water that meets legal standards is reintroduced into nature, while the cloudier or sludge-like wastewater is converted into fertilizer for grain crops.
„If sustainability is a goal, the chances of it happening are close to zero. Sustainability must be a means by which we live daily as consumers, through which businesses make a profit. Otherwise, it becomes an expense and, little by little, it will be left behind, Tulia also says.
Interview published on Start-Up.ro
