With this in mind, Spain's biggest meat processing company Campofrio has formed a new strategic alliance with compatriot Proinserga designed to ensure the complete traceability of all Campofrio's fresh meat products.
Under the terms of the agreement, Campofrio will transfer ownership of its Primayor fresh meat division to Proinserga. The sale also includes all Primayor's slaughterhouses and all its third party supply agreements.
As a result, Campofrio itself will concentrate its efforts on processed meat products and on new product areas, such as nutritional products like Sanissimix, which it launched in December.
But the agreement is not simply about the sale of Primayor. The two companies said they planned to work closely together over the coming years, in particular with regard to the supply chain. As part of this agreement, Proinserga will become Campofrio's main supplier of fresh meat in Spain.
Campofrio has sales of around €1.3 billion a year, and sells its products in 40 countries. Proinserga processes more than 1.7 million pigs each year, and can guarantee the safety of its output from pig feed to finished product.
The move follows rapidly on the heels of another initiative by Campofrio designed to ensure the safety of its meat products. The company has introduced a new high pressure pasteurisation system at its processed meat facility in Burgos which it claims is one of the most advanced in Europe.
The treatment ensures the total elimination of any harmful pathogens in the meat but does not affect the taste or nutritional profile of the product in any way, the company said.
The system is extremely flexible, and can be used to treat a wide range of products whatever the volume or nature.