Walking the supply chain – Portadown Suckler Beef Business Development Group

The Portadown Suckler Beef Business Development Group (BDG) recently had a visit to Dunbia, Dungannon to view the cattle slaughtering, dressing, grading and packaging process.

Group members with Michaela Tener, Dunbia (left), Senan White CAFRE (second right) and Ross McCormick, Dunbia (right).

As part of the BDG programme, the visit was arranged to allow members to better understand the role of the abattoir in the beef supply chain.

The farmers were welcomed by Senan White, CAFRE, who introduced Dunbia’s Agriculture department staff Emma Nelson, Michaela Tener and Ross McCormick. After an introduction to the abattoir, including the importance of health and safety, the group was firstly given a comprehensive tour of the boning hall, chill area and the kill floor.

The farmers were guided through the boning area where each stage of the process was explained. The visit in this section finished with a walk through the kill line where the importance of carcase quality and preventing damage was emphasised – especially in relation to injection sites.

The group were then taken on a tour of the company’s retail site where they viewed the numerous lines of products being produced for many of the major supermarkets. The farmers were impressed by the technology used to produce and package many of the products seen on the supermarket shelves.

The visit concluded with some good discussion on carcase specification and supermarket requirements for beef. Concluding the discussion, Senan White thanked Emma, Michaela, Ross and Dunbia for hosting the group and supporting the discussion with the farmers attending. 

Notes to editors: 

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