There is nothing like home grown food.
Raising your own pigs is usually the easy part, it&#;s enjoyable and relatively stress free - you are in full control of their feed and how you raise them and you will have a freezer full of delicious, nutritious pork that will feed your family for months.
It is really difficult saying goodbye to our pigs and I get very upset when our pork doesn&#;t come back as expected. I find this the most stressful part of raising our own meat. We are no longer in control and have to trust a processor to cut our pork for us. In an ideal world we would have our own place to process the pork.
Carl and I both worked in processing plants, both here and the UK and we have dealt with over 15 different ones over the years. You would not believe the things we have personally experienced and been told by other farmers.
You don&#;t always know what you need to ask. If you are new to dealing with processors Here are 3 questions to ask your processor.
Some places book a year in advance. Many prioritize wild game in hunting season, so you may want to try and avoid these busy times.
The longer you have to keep your pig, the heavier and fatter it gets.
Most processors charge on hanging weight and you will pay processing on all that extra fat, you will need to clarify if you want the fat trimming and if you want to take it home. It&#;s a valuable part of our pig and we always render it for cooking..
If you are selling pork to customers they may not appreciate pork that is too fatty. You may also find 5 things you need to know before buying a side of pork helpful
Do they give you your own meat back and all of your own meat? This is the number 1 question I ask.
e.g of when you may not get your meat back:-
Sausage making - Some will mix pork trim from other customers animals to make ground pork or sausage.. Or they may add beef into sausage&#; which you will have to pay extra for.
Bacon or hams are they yours &#; some will take your pork and give you some that was made earlier of similar weight.
Offal, fat and bones. Many customers don&#;t want these back so your processor may be in the habit of throwing them away. You need to clarify with them if you want to take these home.
Do they cut and wrap to your specs. This is really important to us&#; if they have a standard cut and wrap that they do you may have roasts ground or cubed that you didn&#;t expect, or everything deboned.
Is your product labeled - yes believe it or not some do not label the cuts of meat, so you have a lot of brown packages and your supper is pork surprise.
How much does it cost. There is nothing worse than having a 200lb pork quoted at $1/lb cut and wrap&#; and your bill is $350
Extra charges you may come across
Bacon and ham curing and smoking
Sausage making
Grinding
Slicing
Deboning
Stew making
If you want to learn more, please visit our website Nuovo Machinery.
Packaging/wrapping
Freezing
Boxes
Enviro or disposal fees
Gst
Free range or coloured pig charge
Tip - if you do plan to get bacon ham and sausage made try some that your processor has already made - if you don&#;t like it you may be able to find another processor to make those products for you.
If you have had any strange experiences with processors I would love to hear from you.
For more information on raising free-range pigs check out my e-book - it&#;s packed with time and money-saving tips based on our experiences raising free-range pigs.
Do you have any other questions about red meat inspection that you would like our experts to address? Please us your questions.
Slaughterhouses and abattoirs face two main challenges. The first is making sure that the red meat they supply to their customers is safe for consumption and free from contaminants. The second challenge is ensuring that it meets customers&#; expectations in terms of its weight and fat content. The fat content of red meat is variable, even well-trained butchers with a keen eye who have been in the industry for many years could be off by 3 or 4% or perhaps even more. For slaughterhouses who have a significant volume going through their factory that could equate to a significant amount of money. With a fat analysis inspection system, possibly, as part of a trim management system, slaughterhouses and abattoirs can pack their meat to a tight specification, plus or minus 1 CL, and to a specific weight plus or minus 1 to 1.5%. This enables them to supply exactly what their customers require, and gives added reassurance that red meat is safe and free from physical contaminants.
>>> Have a look at our trim management systems solutions
Recipe management is the name we use to describe a range of solutions that allow meat processors to measure the fat content of the meat they use to produce their processed meat products to an exact recipe target, despite the natural variation in fat content of the raw materials material being used. What this means is a meat processor can understand the variability in their raw materials and how to combine them to meet their recipe target, but at the lowest possible cost. Recipe management can also help to optimize production by linking the production line with a meat processor&#;s business processing system.
>>> See our recipe management systems for the meat industry
A fat analysis inspection system is capable of telling a sausage or hot dog producer what the actual fat content is of the raw material that&#;s going through production, as well as its weight, and whether or not it contains any contaminants. Knowing the weight of the raw material, along with its fat content, allows manufacturers to think about how to produce a consistent final product at the lowest cost possible. In addition, by removing any physical contaminants, the system gives added peace of mind that products are safe for consumption.
>>> Visit our x-ray technologies and fat analysis solutions for sausage and hot dog manufacturers
There are a few different areas in a burger manufacturer&#;s production where an x-ray inspection system can be introduced. A fat analysis inspection system can be placed at the start to help manufacturers optimize their production, as well as identify any possible foreign contaminants that may be in the raw materials they&#;re using. Additionally, further down the line, perhaps in line with their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan, x-ray systems can be introduced to check if any additional foreign contaminants have been introduced. Red meat inspection systems can also be installed at the end of production, once the burgers have been packed. As well as detecting contaminants, installing an x-ray system here can provide additional quality assurance by simultaneously measuring the weight of the final product, and/or confirming that each pack contains the correct number of burger patties and that the burger patties have the correct shape.
>>> Discover our how safe is x-ray inspection of meat
Supermarkets expect all their suppliers to ensure that the meat products they&#;re selling are safe for human consumption. X-ray technology for meat inspection is excellent at identifying contaminants in a wide range of products and packaging materials, and what supermarkets will be looking for is that their suppliers have the appropriate inspection techniques and technologies in place to identify whatever contaminants may or may not be there. With all the data from the various x-ray inspection systems that are installed in the supplier&#;s production line, the supplier can demonstrate to the supermarket that the appropriate level of scrutiny/inspection has been carried out, thus providing reassurance that the products on retailers&#; shelves are safe for consumption.
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