Many consumers are more concerned about easy access to their favourite meat products than they are about how they got to the store they buy them from. However, it’s important not to take the meat distribution process for granted — it’s important to know how the meat you buy gets from the farm to the supermarket fridges and eventually to your home.

The various phases of bulk meat distribution

1. Livestock on the farm: It all starts with the live animal living on a farm that specialises in providing bulk meat to different franchises, whether a supermarket chain or a butchery. They are either born and bred on the farm or purchased from outside farms. They live and eat on the farm and are fed according to the standard of meat the farmer is trying to achieve.
2. Slaughtering: Once the animal has reached a specific age and condition (weight and size), it is slaughtered in the most humane way possible and immediately processed into different cuts. In the best production facilities, which are regularly checked by inspectors to ensure humane and safe conditions, trained butchers will carefully cut the carcass into the different cuts and prepare the meat for packaging and distribution.
3. Packaging: The different cuts of meat are then safely and cleanly packaged according to the client’s specifications. They are either vacuum-packed or packaged into containers with cling film, depending on the timeline of distribution. The products are then stored in a hygienic storage facility.
4. Shipping and Delivery: Meat products are hand-selected from the storage warehouse according to the store owner’s order. They’re then carefully packaged to ensure that they are protected when being transported. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the meat products are as fresh as possible by the time they arrive at their destination.

Why safe meat handling is important

If you’re in the meat and bulk meat distribution industry, it’s important that there is no oversight in any of the above steps. If anything goes wrong, from poor hygiene standards to improper packaging of the meat products, you’re at risk of losing a lot of money and damaging your reputation. The consequences of this can be dire and could result in a loss of sales and customers. Things that you could do to ensure that your national bulk meat distribution is as seamless as possible include:

• Ensuring all your staff are properly trained and are knowledgeable of all important industry standards
• Ensuring your meat facility upholds rigorous hygiene standards at all times
• Ensuring your facility has proper storage facilities
• Ensuring timely delivery of meat products to stores every time

Keep the relationships with the stores you supply as strong and stable as possible by fool-proofing every step of your process, from living conditions of livestock right through to the cleanliness of the coolers you use when distributing products. If you have any queries about how VWG products are distributed nationwide, do not hesitate to get in touch with our team.