24 hours at the world’s most modern cattle slaughterhouse

HOURS

24

AT THE WORLD’S MOST MODERN

CATTLE SLAUGHTERHOUSE

04:31

COWS

The doors to the livestock building open, and the first cattle of the day arrive at the slaughterhouse. All day, cattle are 足delivered from across Denmark. Upon arrival, all the animals are carefully examined by vets and employees like Tage Christensen pictured here, who ensure the highest possible standards of animal welfare. The employees wear green, and the insides of the holding pens are also green as green has a calming effect on the animals.

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05:11 About 90% of the blood runs out as the animals are suspended and bled in the sticking line. When the slaughterhouse is operating at full capacity, up to 22,600 litres of blood runs across the sticking line floor each day. All the blood is collected in huge tanks in the basement and subsequently used in biogas production.

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BLOOD 5

HIDES BREAK

07:14 All the hides are collected by Danish Crown’s hide-processing company Scan Hide, which processes all DC Beef’s hides. Danish hides are used to produce the most expensive leather goods in the world, with Italy being the largest customer. As a bit of paradox, no hides are sold in Denmark.

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09:30 The break is spent having a cup of coffee in the canteen, and reading the paper. Holsted has a no-smoking policy, and smokers must leave the premises if they want to light up. For hygiene reasons, they must change every time they go outside to have a cigarette.

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10.43

NO WASTE

Nothing goes to waste. Heads and intestines are removed and placed on other hooks. Each and every part of the animal is a speciality somewhere in the world. The carcasses are pulled along the row of employees who all cut out their particular bits and prepare the carcass for cold storage.

LUNCH 305 employees work at the cattle slaughterhouse.

Danish Crown is an international company and employs many different nationalities. At the slaughterhouse in Holsted, 12 different nationalities are represented.

PRICE 11:04 Danish Crown’s most important role is to serve the farmers who own the company. This means that the farmers must be paid exactly the right price for their cattle. At the slaughterhouse in Holsted, 3D pictures are taken to assess the shape, fat and colouring of all the animals. This assessment is then used to determine the price paid to the farmer.

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12:10 11

14:00

E R O T S D L CO 5 5 : 13 ld store in the co d e her c la p t for furt s are n e s e s s a r c o r a d exporte All the c n depart er being use’s ow h o s it h r e e e t r h o bef their day slaug d n e e h t p s t a s g ee al. processin ull-time employ gle anim in f s o y r w e T v . ment ality of e g the qu in s s e s s a

DISPATCH Meat is continuously being shipped from the slaughterhouse. About half of all the meat produced in Holsted is destined for the export markets, with exports going to 25 different countries.

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MEAT 14:15 The cutters have been at it for a long time.

One side is cutting pistols, while the other is producing forequarter cuts. All the bones are placed on top of the conveyor belt, and the cuts continue along the conveyor to the packing department. Two employees work fulltime sharpening all the knives at the facility.

GOLD The slaughterhouse in Holsted produces some of the best beef in the world. Handsorted short loin and rib-eye cuts are matured for months before they are ready to be served, for example at the five MASH restaurants in Denmark and London.

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15:04 17

16:43

CLEANING 15 cleaners from TekniClean keep the 33,000-square-metre slaughter­ house clean. All surfaces must be hosed down, defoamed and disinfected in readiness for the next working day.

The cleaning quality is checked daily by the slaughterhouse’s own ­inspectors and must be approved prior to production being resumed.

FOOD The retail department arrives for work and reassemble their cleaned machines. The meat is packed straight into the familiar supermarket trays, ready to be dispatched to retailers. 300 tonnes of beef are minced a week. Minced beef accounts for more than 60% of the beef consumed in Denmark. At all stages of production, samples are taken daily from carcasses, cleaned surfaces, fresh meat and finished products to ensure the highest standards of food safety.

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22:00

04:25

A NEW DAY

The first slaughter-line employees arrive for work at a totally clean and disinfected slaughterhouse, ready to receive the first animals.

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PUBLISHED BY DANISH CROWN 2014

BY DC COMMUNICATION PHOTO MONTGOMERY DESIGN CZOO