Packing Plant Tour

Today I toured the Meadowbrook Farms Co-operative pork packing plant in Rantoul, IL. We received the complete tour from end to beginning. They take you from the end first(clean part) to the beginning last(dirty part) for food safety reasons. We had to wear hairnets under hardhats, ear plugs, white lab coats, cotton gloves, and shoe covers. We looked rather strange to ourselves at first, until we realized that all the employees were outfitted the same way. The tour lasted 2 1/2 hours and we experienced the full gamut of climates. The blast chiller starts the morning at 40 degrees below zero( it was about 30 below while we were in it) and the de-hairing chambers where they use pressurized steam to loosen the hair on the carcasses was like being in a sauna.

Perhaps, before I proceed, those of you with weak stomachs might want to find something more pleasant to do instead of reading this. Perhaps the Precious Moments websight would be nice?

OK. This is a very high tech plant with the latest robotic processing equipment from Europe. There are lots of computerized monitoring, weighing, and recording equipment so that each pig and its meat can be identified and followed thru the plant. The receiving area and kill floor were designed by Temple Grandin, a world renowned expert in humane handling of livestock. By the way, we don't kill pigs anymore, the politically correct term is to "harvest" them. When they say they use every bit of the pig except the squeal, they aren't kidding! As we walked along we saw tubs of hearts, livers, tongues, feet, etc. all sorted and being boxed for shipment to buyers. The ears are saved to be used for doggie chew treats. The eyes go for research. the tails are a delicacy in some foreign countries. The blood is caught in drip pans and saved to be sold. I saw them rinsing out intestines for reuse. They even save the bungholes! They remove them with a hole-saw and catch them in a tub. We were told that the Japanese pay 50 cents per pound for them.
The best part was watching them de-bone hams and loins, watching them trim slabs of bacon, and seeing them cut out the baby-back ribs.
And thinking of honey glazed spiral sliced ham, smoked bacon, butterfy pork chop sandwiches, barbequed ribs, and liver sausage with fried mush! . . Ahhh . . . .mmmmm. .

And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.