Frozen Chicken Specifications for Importers: Grade A, Sizes, Packing and Glazing

Grade A is the highest quality grade for poultry in the USDA poultry grading standards, and the term is widely used in international trade. A Grade A bird or part has no feathers, no broken bones, no tears in the skin or exposed flesh, and no more than slight discoloration or bruising. Grade B products can have more visible defects, which is why they are usually cheaper.

When you order Grade A, write it in the specification together with the cut. Jufangzhai supplies whole chickens and chicken cuts as Grade A.

Frozen whole chickens are sold by weight per bird. Common export sizes run from about 800 g to 1,800 g per bird, packed by weight range, for example 800 g to 900 g or 1,200 g to 1,300 g. Restaurants and rotisseries often prefer smaller birds, while retail and processing buyers often take larger ones.

Also state whether the bird is a whole chicken with giblets (neck, heart, liver and gizzard) or without them, because this changes the HS subheading in some national tariffs. See our guide to frozen chicken HS codes.

For breast, the trim matters most. Fine trim removes more fat, cartilage and loose pieces than standard trim, so it gives a cleaner fillet at a higher price per ton. Write the trim, the skin option and, if you need it, a piece-weight range.

Export chicken is usually packed in cartons of a fixed net weight. Common options are cartons of 2 kg x 6 or 1 kg x 10, retail packs of 1 kg or 2 kg, or packaging printed with the buyer's brand. State the inner pack, the carton weight and any labelling language your market requires.

Also ask whether the pieces are individually quick frozen (IQF), which keeps them separate and easy to portion, or block frozen in the carton.

Glazing is a thin layer of ice sprayed on frozen products to protect them from drying out and freezer burn during storage and shipping. The glazing level is agreed between buyer and seller and should be written in the specification as a percentage.

The key rule: the net weight should be declared without the glaze. In the European Union, for example, the declared net weight of glazed food must exclude the glaze, and the European Commission applies the same rule to the net weight on health certificates. Always confirm that the net weight on your invoice and packing list is the weight of the chicken, not the chicken plus ice.

Frozen chicken should be stored and shipped at -18°C or colder. This is the benchmark in the Codex Alimentarius code of practice for quick-frozen foods, which also says the freezing is complete only when the centre of the product reaches -18°C.

Shelf life depends on the product, the packing and the glazing, so it should be agreed in the specification and printed on the carton with the production date.

Jufangzhai supplies Grade A frozen chicken from Halal-certified plants in China: whole birds from 800 g to 1,800 g, breast in fine trim or standard trim, skinless or skin-on, wings, leg quarters, drumsticks and thigh meat. Glazing, packing and shelf life are agreed with you for each order, and every container is held at -18°C.

Our minimum order is one 40ft refrigerated container (27 tons), quoted CIF, CFR or FOB. Send us your specification through the contact form or on WhatsApp, and we will quote against it.