1. Provincially licensed meat
processing facilities in BC
Lessons learned from a decade on the meat file
And the effort to “make it work”
Kathleen Gibson and Abra Brynne for
Farm, Fish and Finance * May 2013 * Toronto
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2. Introduction
 The “meat file” decade
 2003-05 BC Food Systems Network
 2005-12 BC Food Processors Association
 Government-funded projects MIES, MTAP
 2005-08 Help Desk
 2008-12 Project Manager
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3. BC’s Meat Inspection Regulation
 Prior to 2003: Meat Inspection Areas
 2004: all meat for sale for human consumption in BC
must be from a licensed, inspected facility
 2007: full implementation; introduction of waste Code
from MoE and SRM requirements from CFIA
 2009-10: Remote Sites Consultation, D/E licences
 2011-13: provincial inspection system review
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BC’s graduated meat processing licensing system

5. BC slaughter facilities
 We worked only with the provincial system
 The very many very small
 This discussion will focus on A and B facilities
 BC currently has:
 56 A and B licensed facilities
 95 D and E farmgate licences
 11 federally licensed facilities (only one red meat)
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7. Producers and processors
 Interdependent relationship, reciprocal roles
 PRODUCERS
 Need accessible, affordable slaughter facilities
 10% animals available for slaughter in BC are processed
in provincial facilities
 PROCESSORS
 Need steady, reliable, good quality animal supply
 Can’t recover most capital costs from marketplace
 Often lack affordable waste solutions (red meat)
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8. Facility business models
1. Private business
2. Co-op
3. Social enterprise / community business
 Jurisdiction, terrain, population size and type,
foodshed and food culture are determining factors
 Operation may be
 Slaughter plant only (B)
 Slaughter plus cut/wrap (A)
 Slaughter, cut/wrap (A), plus butcher shop
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9. Privately owned portable poultry
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10. Community portable
red meat and poultry
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11. Capital costs
 Plans, building, equipment
 Projects usually cost 2X what was budgeted and took
2-3X longer than forecast
 Actual cost for a new poultry mobile $150-350K
 Actual cost for a new red meat mobile $300K or more
 Actual cost new red meat fixed plant $1M
 Waste handling facility costs on top, could cost as
much as the abattoir
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12. Operating costs
 Training and compensating workers
 Slowdowns with new people (workers, inspectors)
 Downtime required for repairs
 Refrigeration – ongoing cost and repair issues
 Waste management, removal or dumping
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13. Regulatory costs
 Every regulation carries cost, even filing for a permit
 Many iterations for plans approval
 Health, environment regulators recommend gold-plated
“world class” measures
 First licence puts the facility on other agencies’ radar
 Producers want abattoirs, neighbours don’t, leads to
cost through time-consuming public process
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15. Marketing
 Customers should be the basis of the operation
 Work backwards from marketplace
 Meat from provincial facilities may only be sold in BC
 Be careful what markets you wish for!
 Same product may earn more away from home
 Ethnic markets growing, especially Halal
 Can combine direct sales and web-based organizing,
ordering and sales
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16. Business planning
 Good producer does not necessarily = good processor
 Tight margins in slaughter, best debt is O
 Value adding tends to help profitability
 Small operations are seasonal
 Operating plan is critical, needs strong emphasis on
value chain relationships, scheduling
 Qualified labour is hard to get and retain
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17. Of note
 Production envelope can be stretched – up to a point
 Mobiles are not a magic solution
 For food safety, good hygiene is the best prevention
 You can’t achieve zero risk or zero contamination
 Relationships and communications are key – web is
under-used
 Licensing and inspection should be graduated, based
on assessment of public health, animal welfare and
environmental risks
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18. Challenges
 Export-oriented single-
commodity system
 Reactive, risk-averse
environment  gold-
plated standards,
increasing liability, cost
 Regulatory maze
 Farmers and rural
communities struggling,
supply faltering
Opportunities
 Large system reaching
limits
 Import replacement
potential
 Solid demand for local,
especially from cities
 Increasing demand for
ethnic foods and meats
 Handful of capable
survivors in the business
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19. Worth exploring – next steps?
1. Community food processing facilities
 Red meat, poultry, fish, vegetables from farm to package,
sharing refrigerated storage
 College or UBC farm as sponsor, with regional government?
2. Standardized modular portable facilities, using
containers, that can be ramped up and down seasonally
3. Online support for processors (e.g. NMPAN)
4. Online tools
 For producer-processor organizing and scheduling
 For customer orders
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20. Some abattoir websites
Red meat
 northwestpremiummeat.com
 www.pasture-to-plate.com
 www.kelownafreegrazelamb.com
Poultry
 www.farmhousepoultry.ca
 www.passmorepluckers.ca
Red meat and poultry
 www.saltspringabattoir.ca
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21. Thank you! Questions?
GBH Consulting Group Ltd.
659 Radcliffe Lane, Victoria, BC V8S 5B8
Tel: 250.598.4280
Cell: 250.216.9736
Email: gbhgroup@shaw.ca
Skype: kathleen.gibson.659
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