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Small farms. Big ideas.
Maple Leaf Farms realizes and appreciates the increasing importance that food safety, animal well-being and environmental stewardship play in today's agricultural and food industries. As North America's leading producer of White Pekin ducks, Maple Leaf Farms is committed to producing wholesome, quality food products that enhance the lives of our consumers. At the same time, we strive to be good stewards of our natural resources and a positive member of our communities.
Trident Stewardship Program
 Maple Leaf Farms cares about our ducks and is the industry leader in that area. We were the first duck company in North America to implement a comprehensive duck well-being program that included science-based duck care for all stages of production, a training program for staff and growers, and an internal and third party audit system.
Over the years, our duck well-being program has evolved into a Trident Stewardship Program. Through this stewardship program, Maple Leaf Farms and the farmers we partner with focus on three key areas that contribute to welfare of our animals, the safety of our food products, and the success of our operations: duck well-being, biosecurity (disease prevention), and natural resources conservation.
To ensure that our company follows through on our programs and that these programs are truly leading-edge, we work closely with an advisory group made up of a number of our nation’s leading animal welfare specialists, poultry scientists, and veterinarians. These professionals provide valuable feedback on how we can improve our program and suggest areas for further research.
Farming Practices
Maple Leaf Farms and the farm families we partner with go to great lengths to maintain a healthy environment for our ducks. Our ducks are raised in spacious barns where they have room to roam about and access to freshwater and feed. The barns protect the birds from extreme weather conditions, predators and disease, but allow in the fresh air needed to keep our ducks healthy. The contract growers we partner with thoroughly clean and sanitize their barns in between each flock.
Our ducks are not free range. In fact, Maple Leaf Farms has a very strict biosecurity program to ensure our ducks do not come in contact with wild birds, rodents and other animals that may carry disease. Visitors to farms are restricted. In the rare occasion that a visitor is allowed at a farm, he/she must wear protective clothing and footwear and verify that he/she has not been around other poultry and hogs 72 hours prior to the visit.
Feed Program
We own and operate our own feed mills to ensure the high quality of our duck feeds. In fact, we have a poultry nutritionist on staff who formulates a balanced diet for our ducks from corn, soy, wheat and other essential nutrients. Our feeds do not contain any antibiotics or growth hormones**. What's more, our feed mills have earned two respected industry certifications.
 Facilities Certification Institute – www.certifiedfacility.org
The FCI certification verifies that Maple Leaf Farms’ feed mills use no Restricted Use Protein Products (RUPPs) from animals, like meat and bone meal, in our feeds.
 Safe Feed/Safe Food- www.afia.org Maple Leaf Farms feed mills hold valid certifications under the American Feed Industry Association’s Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification Program. The Safe Feed/Safe Food program examines the record keeping practices, product tracing/tracking systems, and quality assurance programs a facility has in place to assure feed and food safety.
www.afia.org
** Steroid hormones are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in poultry. Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in poultry.
Health Management
Maple Leaf Farms works to protect the health of our birds by following strict biosecurity standards. To ensure flock health, Maple Leaf Farms works with our partner farmers to carefully monitor and regularly test our flocks. In fact, our flocks are tested for avian influenza prior to processing.
Maple Leaf Farms does not include antibiotics in our duck feeds. Although we take many precautions to keep our ducks healthy, we do occasionally administer antibiotics to sick birds under the direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian. We strictly adhere to withdrawal times so there is no antibiotic residue.
In an effort to meet the growing concerns of some of our customers, Maple Leaf Farms has developed a specially labeled line of antibiotic free, thir d party certified products. Only ducks grown at facilities that pass the independent audit may be called "Third Party Certified - Animal Well-Being Assured". Ducks that are prescribed antibiotics by a licensed veterinarian are ineligible for this label. In fact, our company has participated in the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) for years, and all of our flocks are tested for avian influenza prior to processing.
Food Safety Program
Food safety also comes first at our USDA-inspected processing facilities. Our processing employees are trained about Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and other food safety standard operating procedures. GMPs set food safety protocols for all of our employees in all of our processing facilities. They address several topics that can impact food quality such as proper apparel, footwear and sanitation. In addition to our GMPs, Maple Leaf Farms has written HACCP plans that ensure that our operations follow the strict government food safety standards put in place by the USDA and FDA. HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) is a science-based food safety program that monitors critical areas throughout the processing plant to prevent food safety hazards. Our HACCP program involves constant monitoring and testing of our products at Maple Leaf Farms and independent laboratories. |
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