Veterinary Franco Borgogni, watching over the quality of the Chianina-meat:

“Our slaughterhouse is a guarantee for the consumer”

The slaughtering of quality cattle isn't merely routine; it's an art. The method of slaughtering is crucial for the quality of the meat. Every Wednesday and every Thursday the slaughterhouse of Cortona processes about twenty cattle under strict supervision of veterinary Franco Borgogni. He guarantees in person that the outgoing meat is of the highest quality. We followed him at his daily work.

Franco Borgogni: "I eat meat every day"

Thursday morning, 10 a.m. There's a great deal of activity in the slaughterhouse of Cortona. A farmer is bringing in several cattle, the slaughterer swiftly brings them to the right hall. The skinners professionally cut away the hide and throw it on piles. Franco Borgogni is walking to and fro as he gives some instructions and takes notes.

“We slaughter the cattle manually. First, they are anaesthesized and then, we cut their carotid artery,” says Borgogni. “The animals bleed to death and because of that the meat is softer.” The veterinary meticulously monitors the slaughtering procedures. “Every employee is wearing special clothes, their hair is covered and they have to wash their hands very regularly.”

An animal ID

A little farther, an employee is affixing a quality stamp on each approved part of the cow. “These stamps are a guarantee label for the consumer,” says Borgogni. “Each animal has a kind of animal ID, which it can be traced by up to the local butcher shop. Therefore only real Chianina can be sold.”
There are several farmers waiting behind a window, eager to learn the weight of the meat of their animals. They want to know what it yielded.

The meat is hanging on rails now and is being pulled into the fridge. “The regulations concerning the slaughterhouse are very strict,” says Borgogni. “There is an interval of an hour and a half at the most between the moment that the animal is brought in and when it is hanging in the fridge. The heads of the animals older than twelve months aren't sold because of the danger of mad cow disease.”

“On other days, we also slaughter ostrich, horses and pigs. The horses are also slaughtered manually, but the ostrich and the pigs are partly slaughtered by machine.”

The reglementation in the
slaughterhouse is very severe

Tasty and healthy

Has the veterinary ever had ethical problems killing animals day by day? “No, I know that the slaughtering is quite painless and is done in a correct way. First, the animals are anaesthesized before being slaughtered. I know that the animals are slaughtered because of the meat, to eat it. I think that it is a mere technical affair. I also eat meat, because it is tasty and healthy,” says Borgogni.

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