BRITT-MARIE STEGS OF HÄLSINGESTINTAN

What inspired you to launch Hälsingestintan and what practices set you apart from other Swedish companies?

I had been running a meat business since 1999, selling meat from cattle who were traceable all the way back to the farm. In 2012 the abattoirs in Sweden were merged into larger units – which meant that the cows had to be transported long distances. This was stressful for the cattle, so I wanted to change that by constructing an abattoir that could come to the farm to slaughter the animals there.

What is on-farm processing and why is it important?

On-farm processing means that a mobile abattoir will come to the farm and slaughter the animals. This means that the animals don’t have to be live transported far distances under bad conditions. The slaughter will take place in a stress-free environment.

How common is live cattle transport, and what are its challenges?

Almost 100 per cent of [Swedish] cattle are live transported – sometimes for many days before they reach the abattoir. The transport can be quite a struggle for the cattle because there’s often a lack of water and they are mixed with other cows they have never met before. Then they have to overnight in a noisy and stressful environment.

How is on-farm processing more sustainable?

It is more sustainable because on-farm processing also means that the meat is being sold in a local market. That is disruptive compared to how it normally works in the meat industry – where everything is centralised and the meat is transported even between continents. On-farm processing means locally produced, locally consumed – which is more sustainable.

Why is digital traceability of meat important?

It is important because the consumer can follow the package of meat they buy in the store all the way back to the farm and the specific animal it came from. The consumer can use their smartphone, scan the QR code, and be able to meet the farmer at once.

What distinguishes high-quality beef from low-quality?

High-quality meat is tender and marbled. This is easy to achieve when you are doing on-farm processing because when the animal isn’t stressed, the meat will be much more tender. Other things that affect the quality apart from transport can be rough handling, the quality of the feed, the type of feed, genetics, ageing time, hanging technique, chilling technique and cooking technique.