United Kingdom-High praise for local abattoir in Yorkshire.

UNITED KINGDOM-SMALL ABATTOIR GET NEW APPROVAL.

Upper Wensleydale abattoir McIntyre Meats has announced itself ready to deal with cattle up to 48 months old, to bring its service into line with the latest rules.

The development is good news for its 2,000 customers – and to anyone who likes to see a small business staying in the swim against the odds.

Martin McIntyre, now 42, worked as a one-man band in slaughtering and butchery until he pulled the money together from various sources to build an abattoir on a farm near Bainbridge.

It launched in 2002, when the local economy was still coming round after foot and mouth disease and sailed into the teeth of economic gales which sank a lot of small operators.

More and more standards, inspections, and record-keeping requirements, have driven a trend towards fewer and bigger meat processing plants. From Bainbridge, the nearest alternatives are at Preston or Bishop Auckland.

As well as adding to the trouble and cost of transport, the centralisation trend left a lot of small businesses looking for a service which could be tailored to their requirements. And that was where McIntyre Meats found its niche.

The abattoir meets Assured British Meat (Red Tractor) and Eblex (Beef & Lamb Executive) standards and is working towards full certification by the British Retail Consortium.

It does some slaughtering for supermarket suppliers but most of its business is in small individual contracts with butchers, farmers and local wholesalers.

Mr McIntyre’s wife and business partner, Lindsey, said: "The big operators buy in and sell on but they won’t take an animal and cut it up for you and give it back, or hang it for 21 days, like people want for their shops.

"We have customers in Cumbria and Northumberland and across to Northallerton and down to Skipton because we do what they want."

Her husband said: "There are a lot of arguments for the local service. We cut down on animal stress and food miles.

"But I doubt if you will see a return to an abattoir in every village, like there used to be.

"It’s not been easy. I have two staff more or less full-time on the paperwork. But we’re still here."

Including the owners, the business employs 12 and up to 25 in the July-December high season for lamb. And most of them are local.

The old 30-month limit on animals allowed into the food chain, which was imposed after the BSE scare of the early 1990s, was a bit of a problem for farmers and processors.

It was surprisingly common for farmers to miss the deadline through oversight. The animal then had to go to a specialist slaughterer.

By European agreement, the age limit for standard processing has now been raised to 48 months, because no BSE risk has been found below that limit.

The change meant McIntyre Meats needed a revised licence to cover the older animals, which they achieved through an inspection eight days ago.

The new age limit means the return of prime cuts which meat connoisseurs have missed for many years.

Traditional breeds, like Aberdeen Angus and Belted Galloways, take longer than 30 months to mature properly.

McIntyre Meats is at East Borwins, near Bainbridge. Phone 01969 650999.