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BC Meat Processing
Establishments in BC that process live animals are either provincially licensed or federally registered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The BC Government works to ensure that meat produced at provincially licensed establishments in BC is safe for consumers through the Meat Inspection Regulation. It ensures that:
– Animals are humanely handled at processing
– Meat is processed in a clean environment
– Meat is packaged and stored in ways that reduce contamination risks
Some BC provincially licensed animal processors have a government inspector on site during the animal processing day. These inspectors provide independent, third-party pre- and post- slaughter inspection of each animal to ensure only meat fit for human consumption is produced. Other provincially licensed establishments are lower volume where risk-based inspections occur periodically, but there is an audit of slaughter records.
Working in the meat industry
Direct involvement in meat processing will mean you will always find a job! Formalized training can be taken at a post secondary college; however, most businesses are willing to do on-site training for those with interest. With the many small meat processors in BC, you could be cutting meat in the morning and making specialized chorizo in the afternoon.
The industry offers seasonal, part-time, and full-time employment in stable, resilient businesses that are often multi-generational family owned and operated.
Do you want to support local, but aren’t a butcher? While there are many skilled meat cutting jobs in the meat industry, there are also other possibilities. Larger businesses need bookkeepers, accountants, schedulers, quality assurance specialists, marketing, sales and all the other positions needed to run a successful business.
What happens with animal waste products at processing?
Much of the waste from animals is processed for beneficial uses. If the meat is fit for human consumption, but not sold as such (think kidneys and tongues), then it is often made into pet food. Other by-products are composted, following the required BC regulations, to generate soil amendments or they are rendered to create tallow. All zoonotic and diseased tissue is kept separate and is disposed of in special, completely sealed bins that are then transported to sites where they undergo rendering or pyrolysis to destroy the disease. Some of these facilities generate energy that is captured and used to generate electricity.
Profile of BC Meat Processing
What does the meat processing industry look like in BC? First, to give some perspective: in all of BC, less than 30,000 beef animals are processed per year, while one large processor in Alberta can do that volume in only one week! Sadly, this means BC is far from local food security in all meats except chicken.
Most of the government inspected meat processors in BC are small, family owned and operated and processing is done in small batches with artisan detail to provide quality and taste. This leads to a variety of tasks being done each day with very little repetition and a lot of flexibility. In many places, having one more person can increase their processing capacity considerably. Maybe that person is you!
Illegal Meat Sales?
Illegal meat sales conjure up images of the underworld, but what is considered illegal meat sales in BC?
First, to legally sell meat in BC, the animal must be processed at a licensed and inspected establishment and the meat must be processed at a licensed and inspected cut and wrap butcher shop. Each of these establishments will have a government issued license number. These establishments are regulated to ensure the animals are humanely treated, the meat is fit for human consumption and all food safety protocols are in place.
Animal processing establishments in B.C. can be federally registered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency or provincially licensed. Provincial licences include ‘Abattoir’, ‘Farmgate Plus’ and ‘Farmgate’. Farmgate and Farmgate Plus licences are held by farmers who process animals and can legally sell the meat with that licence. Meat processing establishments that do not process animals such as butcher shops, cut-and-wrap facilities, or commercial kitchens, are regulated by regional health authorities or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Illegal meat sales occur when either the animal or meat is processed at an unlicensed facility. It is also illegal in BC for a farmer, without a processing licence, to sell you a live animal, process ‘your animal’ immediately for you to then take home. However, it is legal for you to process your own animal, or have your animal processed by a third party on your farm, if it is for your personal consumption only.
It then comes as no surprise that the buying or selling of hunted wildlife meat in British Columbia is illegal under BC’s Wildlife Act. Many illegal domestic and wildlife meat sellers are using the internet to make their sales, so be aware. Environmental health officers and meat inspectors are addressing illegal meat sales and the lack of compliance through warnings and ticketing.
Mobile Abattoirs
What are they?
Mobile abattoirs are essentially processing plants on wheels that can be moved from one farm location to another to process animals. They could also be moved and set up at a various centralized locations for a group of farmers. These units generally have all the equipment necessary for processing, and some include cooling units, power generators, and even carry their own potable water.
The possibilities of a mobile slaughter unit are often brought up as a solution for farmers dealing with processing issues. Many local processing shops are working at capacity and at times, farmers need to truck animals great distances to find availability at an inspected facility in order to be able to resell their meat. However, the real processing bottleneck lies in cutting and wrapping the meat, not processing the live animal.
Benefits:
Advocates for mobile abattoirs state that processing the animal at the home farm reduces the amount of stress on the animal and is more humane since they do not have to go to unfamiliar surroundings, animals and people.
Drawbacks:
These units are expensive to buy, maintain and operate. Fuel is expensive, locations can be remote and the access roads may not be properly maintained. These units need to have everything a fixed facility has in order to meet regulations and at the same time travel safely down the road. They need to have full hook-ups available at the farm, or carry all of that on the trailer or truck; hot water, electricity, and a place to dump or store waste water. The meat then still needs to be transported to a shop for cutting and wrapping.
When would it work?
If there are core customers each within a short distance of each other and there is a consistent number of animals for year-round processing, the farms have good handling facilities, hot water, septic system, and everything that the truck needs to come and hook up to. Farmers may also have to be willing to pay more for this service than if they took the animals to a fixed facility.
What happens if a sick or injured animal arrives at a BC processing facility?
When a sick or injured animal arrives at a BC abattoir, there are assessment criteria that are followed to determine the course of action. This is a complex series of assessments with a number of possible outcomes based on the animal’s condition.
Basically, the assessment looks at:
– What is the overall fitness of the animal?
– Will the animal recover on its own?
– Will the animal be able to get off on its own?
– Is the animal unable to stand or walk?
Basic courses of action:
– Protect the injured animals from the other animals being unloaded
– Let the animal rest until it can get off on its own
– Separate injured and sick animals from others once off the vehicle
– If the animal cannot get off on its own, it is dispatched while still in the transport vehicle
In all cases, the welfare of the animal is of the utmost importance in BC!
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