ELVIE AVILA: From a small market stall retailer to big-time chicken dressed plant operator

Ms. Elvie Avila and Ms. Mitch Razo

PARANAQUE, METRO MANILA

The dressed chicken that you get from the wet markets south of Manila has no “fowl  smell” as compared to many that are sold in other Metro Manila markets.  These are due to the EM COLD DIP process invented by Ms. Elvie Avila.   All dressed chicken that passed through the end of her processing line are dipped for an hour in ice cold water in a 400-liter “bath tub” before being packed and frozen. Around 15,000 to 20,000 chicken are undressed by Elvie’s staff and dipped in 24 hours.  That’s 7,500 to 10,000 chicken per shift of 12 hours. One and a half block of ice is used per shift to chill the water.

The EDSA LIVE AND DRESSED CHICKEN DEALER that chicken built started as a small retail stall in Pasay public market in 1991 by Elvie’s mother.  At that time, Elvie was just a teen ager but was already helping out and learning the trade.  Years later, Elvie started a small dressed chicken business.  Later she established a plant in the Moonwalk Subdivision. As her volume grew, the bad odor from her drainage canal and the corresponding high-density of houseflies started to be a nuisance for her neighbors.  The barangay would regularly check that she is doing the necessary sanitation.  She spent a lot of chemicals to suppressed the odor.

EM-POWER TO HER RESCUE

A friend in Pasig who also operates a slaughter house for chicken shared her “secret” to Elvie.  Ms. Elena Renato’s dressing plant is inside a subdivision too but sans the bad smell and droves of houseflies.  Elena taught Elvie how to use EM and introduced her to Harbest Agribusiness Corporation. 

Since then, Elvie solved her two main headaches with one stroke.  Since 2010, Elvie has been applying EMAS – Effective Microorganism Activated Solution to sanitize her 886 square meters slaughterhouse in the middle of Moonwalk.  She is now a good neighbor, not only giving special discounts for dressed chicken but also providing an environmental-friendly solution to waste disposal.

EM TO NEUTRALIZE THE RANCID SMELL INSIDE THE SLAUGHTER HOUSE

In each shift of twelve hours, Elvie’s staff has to clean all the dirt and blood stain on the floor, walls and furniture inside the slaughterhouse with commercial powdered detergent and disinfectant.  For years, the rancid smell from blood and undigested food inside the chickens’ stomach produce an irritating smell even after the cleaning process.  The drainage canals are quite smelly specially when the blood and waste matters are exposed to the sun.  These always caused trouble with irritated neighbors although Elvie’s operation was there ahead of many of the residents.

How EM-1 is used by Elvie:

She activates one liter of EM-1 with one kilogram of good molasses (above 50 brix from Harbest).  She mixed these with 28 liters of non-chlorinated water from the deep well.  This mixture is fermented for seven days in an enclosed container.   After seven days, she has 30 liters of EM Activated Solution or EMAS.  (If your water source is chlorinated, let it stay in an open container for 24 hours to dispel the chlorine into the atmosphere).  Elvie calls her mixture MOLASSES instead of EMAS.

To neutralize the rancid smell on the walls, floors, furniture, knives and other fixtures in the slaughterhouse,  EMAS diluted  200 times ( one liter of EMAS mixed with 200 liters of water ) is sprayed on them as a final rinse using a power sprayer.  Like magic, the smell problem and the houseflies disappeared.  Without the bad smell, there is no attractant for flies.  Literally, Elvie solved two problems with one solution. It only takes a few minutes to remove the bad smell… and it is 100% non-toxic. Safe!

Cold Dip Process

Elvie discovered this process in the course of her daily use of EM.  Since dressed chicken are not refrigerated in the public wet markets, they easily produce a rancid smell which can lessen their marketability.  She experimented using EM diluted solution and it worked. 

In a water tub of 400 liters, Elvie applies two liters of EMAS and mixed these well.  She adds one and a half block of ice per twelve hours to chill the water.  The newly dressed chicken are washed well and dipped into the chilled water treated with EMAS.

“A really cheap and effective EM Solution”

Elvie is so elated with her EM-POWERED operation.  In one month, processing almost 600,000 chicken for the Christmas season is no problem.  And very CHEAP!  Elvie uses only three bottles of EM-1 monthly for the cold dip process and the general sanitation of the slaughter house and canals.   That’s about P2,000 only!  Before, she was spending ten times that amount and with lots of headaches from her neighbor. 

2013 will again be a joyful Christmas for Elvie, her family and all her workers at EDSA LIVE AND DRESSED CHICKEN DEALER.