24 HOURS AT THE WORLD’S MOST MODERN SLAUGHTERHOUSE
00:47
THE DAY
IS OVER...
BUT THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE NEVER SLEEPS 4
01:09 5
AS SOON AS THE NIGHT SHIFT DROPS ITS KNIVES AND LEAVES THE BUILDING, THE CLEANERS START THE EXTENSIVE OPERATION OF CLEANING THE PRODUCTION FACILITIES. 100 employees clock in to remove all meat scraps and residues from the previous day’s production. Then all worktops, surfaces and machines are foamed using two different types of soap, the first to break down fat, and the second protein. Finally, everything is disinfected using a third clean ing agent. The efficient cleaning team works hard for about 4 hours, after which everything has to air for 2 hours to ensure the plant is completely dry before slaughtering starts again. During the drying period, our own inspectors and food safety inspectors from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Region South, make their entrance to thoroughly check cleaning standards so that everything is ready for when production resumes at 05:55.
02:23
CLEANING
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04:36
DANISH CROWN IS THE BIGGEST PIG SLAUGHTERHOUSE IN EUROPE AND THE THIRD-LARGEST IN THE WORLD. The company is a cooperative owned by about 12,000 pig and cattle farmers. The Danish Crown Group employs about 25,000 people in all, with more than 10,000 working in Den足 mark. Each year, Danish Crown slaughters approx. 20.7 million pigs and sows and half a million cattle worldwide.
A SPOTLESSLY CLEAN SLAUGHTERHOUSE
THE FIRST PIGS ARRIVE AT THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE. VETS FROM THE DANISH VETERINARY AND FOOD ADMINISTRATION, REGION SOUTH, MONITOR THE PIGS ON ARRIVAL AT THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE TO CHECK THAT THEY ARE FIT AND HEALTHY. If a pig is limping, has sores or is displaying any symptoms of illness, it is moved to one side for further checks. The pigs are kept in stalls for a short time before slaughter, and then gently herded through a carefully designed system with partitions, sloping floors and lighting, which helps the animals to behave naturally. Pigs are gregarious animals, and the stalls are designed so they slowly move forwards in small groups. The large stall area houses 3,800 pigs. No electric goads are used at the slaughterhouse.
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05:20 11
05:42
WAITING FOR THE MEAT 12
AS THE WORLD’S BIGGEST MEAT EXPORTER, DANISH CROWN EXPORTS 92% OF ITS PRODUCTION TO OTHER COUNTRIES. Horsens exports approx. 250,000 tonnes of meat each year, primarily to the UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, the USA, Russia, Sweden and Italy.
07:34
FOOD SAFETY 10:51 14
DANISH CROWN SPENDS DKK 1 BILLION ANNUALLY ON FOOD SAFETY.
Vets employed by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration work at all our slaughterhouses and, together with Danish Crown’s own inspect ors, take samples of the meat and monitor production. Every year, Danish Crown’s own inspectors take more than 250,000 samples to minimise the risk of salmonella being present in products supplied to consumers. Every morning, our own inspectors check the nightly cleaning, after which the authorities’ inspectors approve the slaughterhouse to ensure that each day starts with a clean slaughterhouse.
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12:17 MORE THAN 1,500 EMPLOYEES WORK AT THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE IN HORSENS. ON TOP OF THE MANY SLAUGHTERHOUSE WORKERS AND SUPERVISORS, ABOUT 85 TRADESMEN ARE EMPLOYED TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN THE MACHINERY. The buildings also house office staff, canteen personnel, IT employees, laboratory workers, physiotherapists and a visitors’ service. Moreover, many outside contractors are permanently engaged at the slaughterhouse such as security guards, 110 vets and inspection tech nicians employed by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Region South, and 100 cleaning assistants from ISS. In all, 42 different nationalities are represented in Horsens. The slaugh terhouse workers work in two shifts. The first shift arrives for work in the morning when production starts at 05:55, while the evening shift starts slaughtering at about 14:30.
14:25
THE NIGHT SHIFT ARRIVES FOR WORK - AND THE DAY SHIFT CHECKS OUT
DANISH CROWN IS HAPPY TO SHOW VISITORS ITS PRODUCTION. This is why there is a gallery running the length of the factory in Horsens from where visitors can be given a guided tour of the entire production. Since the Horsens slaughterhouse opened in 2005, more than 75,000 people from all over the world have visited the facility.
17:01
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19:43
PRODUCTION IN FULL SWING
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DANISH CROWN IS AN ENERGY-INTENSIVE ENTERPRISE, WHICH IS WHY THE SLAUGHTERHOUSES HAVE FOR A LONG TIME FOCUSED ON REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION WITH THE HELP OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY. Over the past 20 years, Danish Crown has reduced its energy consumption per pig slaughtered by 30%. Moreover, modern slaughterhouses have cut their water consumption to less than one third of that used 20 years ago. The slaughterhouse in Horsens uses approx. 165 litres of water per pig, which corresponds to approx. 14,500 cubic metres per week during normal operations.
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PUBLISHED BY DANISH CROWN 2009
BY SIMONE BODHOLDT PHOTOS PER GUDMANN DESIGN CZOO