Where are your animals processed?
Beef and pork are processed at Bittner’s in Eureka, IL
Poultry is processed at Central Illinois Poultry Processing in Arthur, IL.
Does this facility process meat from CAFOs
or other farms whose techniques enable the transmission of E. coli? In other words, are you concerned at all that your meat
could become contaminated at the processing facility due to lack of cleanliness from processing other meats?
Our reputation is only as good as the butchers to whom we entrust our
animals for their final hours of life. Bittner's Eureka Processing (beef & pork) and Central Illinois Poultry Processing
(chicken) are both small (human scale), family owned businesses whose practices are meticulous and facilities are immaculate.
Both facilities are USDA inspected and have the ability to process certified
organic meats. Cedar Valley Sustainable is not an organic certified farm, however; this added level of care gives
us even more confidence in their professionalism. Plus we see them every couple of weeks and they're good people who care
about our business, too. They're just another part of our farm's community.
As to CAFO or other practices, these facilities cater primarily to small producers who are either selling
directly to customers (like us) or taking it home to their families (which we do, also). Of
course, I can't vouch for every farm's practices. What I can say is that each farm's animals are processed separately - meaning
the line is cleaned before Cedar Valley Sustainable's animals are butchered and again immediately afterward.
That's a fairly long explanation.
The short answer to your question is "No, I don't have any concerns regarding the safety of our meats."
How
are your animals killed?
The processing facilities
to which we take our animals have been designed to lessen stress on the animals (curved chutes, appropriate lighting, good
ventilation, etc.)
The butchers we take our animals to are professionals and
dispatch our animals with care and humanity. A captive bolt is used on beef and pork (similar to the device
used to quickly and humanely euthanize a severely injured equine athlete) prior to exsanguination.
Chicken are stunned with an electric current
before exsanguination.
