ﺍﻟﻌﺭﺒﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﺨﻠﻴﺞ ﻟﺩﻭل ﺍﻟﺘﻌﺎﻭﻥ ﻤﺠﻠﺱ ﻟﺩﻭل ﺍﻟﺘﻘﻴﻴﺱ  ﻫﻴﺌﺔ 
STANDARDIZATION ORGANIZA TION FOR G.C.C (GSO) 
 
 
  
 
  
 
   
 
GSO 322/ 1994 
 
    
  
ﺍﻟﻤﺒـــﺭﺩ  ﺍﻟﺩﺠـــﺎﺝ   
CHILLED CHICKEN 
 
 
  
 
  
 
   
 
  
 
  
ICS:67.120.20 
  
  
 
  
 
CHILLED CHICKEN 
   
  
 
  
 
  
 
Date of GSO Board of Directors’ Approval : 1415(H)-06-13  (1994-11-16) 
Issuing Status : Technical Regulation 
 
 GSO STANDARD GSO 322/1994 
 
1 CHILLED CHICKEN 
 
1- SCOPE AND FIELD OF APPLICATION 
 This standard is concerned with chill ed chicken meat carcasses and its cuts 
preserved under set chilling conditions. 
2- COMPLEMENTARY REFERENCES 
2.1 GSO 9 “Labelling of Prepackage Foods”. 
2.2 GSO 592 “Methods of Sampling fo r Meat and Meat Products”. 
2.3 GSO standard on “Methods for Physical a nd Chemical Analysis of Meat and Meat 
Products”. 
2.4 GSO 655 “Methods of Microbiological Ex amination for Meat, Fish, Shellfish and 
Their Products”. 
2.5 GSO 382 “Maximum Limits for Pestic ide Residues in Agricultural and Food 
Products – Part One”. 
2.6 GSO 383 “Maximum Limits for Pestic ide Residues in Agricultural and Food 
Products – Part Two”. 
2.7 GSO 713 “Hygienic Regulations for P oultry Processing Abattoirs and Their 
Personnel”. 
2.8 GSO 149 “Unbottled Drinking Water”. 
2.9 GSO 150 “Expiration Periods of  Food Products – Part 1”. 
2.10 GSO 287 “Microbiology – General Guid ance on Methods for the Detection of 
Salmonella”. 
2.11 GSO 323 “Requirements for Transportation and Storage of Chilled and Frozen 
Foods”. 
2.12 GSO standard on “Cold Stores for Fr ozen and Chilled Foodstuff – Part 1:  
Definitions, Classifica tion and Terminology”. 
2.13 GSO standard on “Cold Stores for Frozen and Chilled Foodstuff – Part 2:  General 
Requirements”. 
2.14 GSO standard on “Cold Stores for Fr ozen and Chilled Foodstuff – Part 3:  
Labelling and Marking”. 
2.15 GSO 1814 “General standard for irradiated foods”. 
2.16 GSO/CAC/RCP 19 “Requirements for the op eration of irradiation facilities 
used for the treatment of foods”. 
    GSO STANDARD GSO 322/1994 
 
2 3- DEFINITIONS 
3.1 Broilers:  Chicken bred sp ecially for production of meat. 
3.2 Whole chicken carcasses:  Slaughtered chicken good for human consumption after 
bleeding, plucking and evisceration with th e head, feet, feather, pinfeather and oil 
gland removed. 
3.3 Chicken cuts:  Halves of the car casses, chests and legs of chicken. 
3.4 Edible giblets:  They in clude liver without gall bladde r, heart with or without 
pericardial sac, and the gizzard without the hardened membrane. 
3.5 Chilling conditions:  A closed atmosphere kept under a temperature of (-1 to 4)oC. 
4- REQUIREMENTS 
 The following requirements shall be met in  fresh whole chicken carcasses and its 
cuts: 
4.1 Chicken shall be sound, free from c ontagious diseases and examined by a 
veterinary inspector.  It shall be sla ughtered according to Islamic rules at a 
slaughter house having all th e requirements given in the GSO standard mentioned 
in 2.6. 
4.2 Chicken shall be clean, free from feather, pinfeather and evisceration. 
4.3 The neck joint shall be open to the abdominal area. 
4.4 It shall be free from foul  odours or deterioration symptoms such as change of 
colour. 
4.5 The carcass shall have a well-developed cove ring of flesh in all parts of the body, 
especially at the breast area and up to the chest bone. 
4.6 The edible parts of the viscera shall be included inside the body of the carcass after 
cleaning and packing in a suitable clean and hygienic bag. 
4.7 The water used in processing shall comp ly with the GSO standard mentioned in 
2.7. 
4.8 The period  consumed  from  slaughtering  and  up to storing  shall not  exceed 4 
hours. 
4.9 The whole carcass weight shall range  between 550-1800 g with a tolerance of ± 
50 g, provided that weight  is divided in to weighing  grades with 100 g difference 
between each grade and the next one. 
4.10 It shall be free from hormones, antibiotic s, preservatives, colouring materials, 
flavouring, and tenderizing agents and colour bleaching agents. 
4.11 The limits of pesticide residues shall be within the limits given in the GSO 
standard mentioned in 2.5. GSO STANDARD GSO 322/1994 
 
3 4.12 The area of tearing in the breast and legs shall not exceed  the area of a circle of 30 
mm diameter and of 45 mm in other parts of carcass. 
4.13 The area affected by disc oloration resulting from brui ses shall not exceed the area 
of a circle of 25 mm diameter in the breas t and legs and of 60 mm in other parts of 
carcass. 
4.14 Disjointed and broken bones shall not be  more than two.  The tail and the wing 
tips may be removed at the joints. 
4.15 Salmonella bacteria shall not exceed one  positive sample out of five samples 
tested. 
4.16 Expiration date shall not exceed 7 days from slaughtering date. 
4.17 Without prejudice to the requirements stated in the GSO standard mentioned 
in (2.15) and (2.16)  it is allowed to use the techno logy of irradiation with dose 
of 3 kGy as a means of keeping chilled chicken.   
4.18 Expiration date of poultry chicken t reated with irradiation shall not exceed 
12 days from slaughtering date. 
5- SAMPLING 
 Samples shall be taken according to  the GSO standard mentioned in 2.2. 
6- METHODS OF INSPECTION AND TEST 
6.1 Tests shall be carried out according to GSO standard mentioned in 2.3 and 2.9. 
6.2 All necessary tests shall be carried out  on representative samples taken according 
to item (5) to determine their compliance with this standard. 
7- PACKING 
7.1 Whole chicken carcasses and their cuts shall be packed , after weighing, in clean, 
hygienic, sound and strong packages to pr otect the product wit hout affecting its 
characteristics. 
7.2 Chicken packages (cases) shall be placed in suitabl e hygienic moisture proof 
boxes. 
8- LABELLING 
 Without prejudice to the requirements of  the GSO standard mentioned in 2.1 and 
2.8, the following information shall be clearly and indelibly declared on each carton and package of whole ch icken carcasses and their cuts: 
8.1 Slaughtering and expiry dates in a no n-coded manner (day – month – year). 
8.2 The word “Chilled” shall be clearly written  in green colour on the whole width of 
package (case). 
 GSO STANDARD GSO 322/1994 
 
4 8.3 Storage conditions 
The statement “Keep chilled at –1oC to +4oC” shall be written on the package. 
 
8.4  In case of poultry chicken treated with  irradiation, the use of the following 
International Food Irradiation Symbol sh all be placed in conjunction with the 
name of food. 
 
  
9- TRANSPORTATION 
 Without prejudice to the requirements of  the GSO standard mentioned in 2.10 and 
2.11. 
 Whole chicken carcasses and their cuts sh all be transported at specified chilling 
conditions. 
10- STORAGE 
 Whole chicken carcasses and their cuts sh all be stored at a temperature of –1oC to 
+ 4oC in compliance with the GSO standard mentioned in 2.11.