Upgraded abattoir due soon
Upgraded abattoir due soon
By Wendy Short
North-east correspondent
A £1m project to upgrade an existing abattoir in North Yorks is due to open in September.
McIntyre Meats at East Borwins, Bainbridge, was previously unlicensed and could handle just 70 lambs and three cattle a week for home-kill and casualty slaughter only.
The new plant will be open for slaughter on Tuesdays and Thursdays initially and expects to have a maximum throughput of 110 lambs, 20 cattle and 20 pigs an hour. It is also hoping to gain organic approval within the next few months.
Director Lindsey McIntyre says the original business was facing an uncertain future but the new development will provide a much better service for local farmers. Most importantly, a computerised system will provide full traceability back to individual animals from any food produced on the site.
"We do not want to retail meat because that would mean being in direct competition with some of our customers," says Mrs McIntyre. "But we have put in a cutting and processing unit and a maturation chiller so we can process animals to their specifications. There is also a refrigerated wagon so we can deliver the finished product."
The project, which has taken more than two years to complete, received about £300,000 of grant aid from various sources including DEFRA and the local district councils. About 10 full-time and part-time staff will be employed once the business is up and running.
Mrs McIntrye stresses that the provision of home-kill and casualty slaughter stock will be unaffected. *