The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1968-10-17, Page 12to. Ron Merrier on the
opening of his .new abattoir
WE WERE PLEASED
to be chosen as.
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
on this project
Cliff
Salmon
DASHWOOD
Phone 237-3696
Page 12
Times,Advocate, October 171 190:
TP
M erner's Market
on the opening of their
new and modern .obottoir
CROCKER
REFRIGERATION
CONTRACTORS
DASHWOOD
We are pleased
to supply
FOR
You're invited to the
OFFICIAL
OPENING
OF THE ULTRA
MODERN
m erner s Ab a oar
•
(Y2 MILE NORTH OF MAIN INTERSECTION IN DASHWOOD)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18
5:00 to 8:00 P .M.
FREE
• Homburgs
* Coffee
* Soft Drinks
See the most modern
equipment and plant
in Huron County . . .
LET US SHOW YOU
HOW MEAT IS PROCESSED
AGED and CURED
The whole family will
find it educational
and interesting
* Movies
SUPPLIED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE ON MEAT PROCESSING
OPENING SPECIALS
BEEF SIDES 58t
PORK SIDES 414
BREAD
OUR' STORE. WILL CLOSED DURING THE OPENING, BUT WILL
BE` OPEN FROM moo oti
PROCESSED& FROZEN
PROCESSED & FROZEN
5 LOAVES $1
Phone 631-2760
After the quarters and halves of beef and pork have been aged, the
meat is cut into saleable pieces by Lorne Vincent.
Area. residents will have .an
opportunity Friday night to see.
thropgh one of the area's most
modern abattoirs when. Ron
Merrier Will stage the official
opening of his new facilitiesjust
riOrtb. of Dashwood,
While some may .not think
.such a tour too enjoyable, they
will be pleasantly surnriseci.
Stiff government regulations
in recent years in regard to the
operation of animal slaughtering
houses have forced all butchers
to bring their premises up to top.
standards and interested persons
will be able to see at fit* hand.
the cleanliness and control. that
is maintained in producing the
beef and pork which ends up on
their dining room tables.
Some of the meat which
comes from the Merner abattoir
will be .consumed by those
attending the open house as Ron
has his staff readied to barbecue
hamburgs. There will also be free
coffee and soft drinks, as well as
-educational films on the meat
industry to be shown by Dr.
Tom Melady, Goderich, regional
veterinarian-.
Animals will not be
slaughtered during the evening,
but all the modern .equipment
used to ready the meat for sale
will be on exhibit.
Perhaps the most interesting
thing on display will be the hog
stunner, which was built by Ron
and another Dashwood resident,
Joe Zimmer.
The electric gadget renders
hogs unconscious in less than
five seconds and is found to be
one of the most humane ways in
which to kill them.
After the hog is tunned, it is
"stuck" with a knife and then
placed in a huge scalding vat
with a water temperature of 142
degrees. The animal remains in
this vat until the hair is loosened
and it is then placed on another
comparatively new machine — a
de-hairing machine.
This machine consists of a
rotary mechanism which twirls
the carcass around, during which
time it is "beaten" with 36
rubber pedals which remove the
hair from the hide.
The machine is capble of
doing from 40 to 60 hogs per
hour and is a much better
method than manual de-hairing.
The hog carcass is then
removed from this machine and
is finished off with a shaving
knife and is singed to remove the
hair that is not visible to the
human eye.
Some -.of the equipment used
in the slaughtering of cattle is
also comparatively. new to most
people in this district.
The animals are "shot" with a
stun-safe gun which dispensenses
a Plastic bullet and it is then
taken to the slaughtering room
where it is skinned and split in
half with a high-powered power
saw.
ALL INSPECTED
All animals slaughtered at the
Morner abattoir — similar to
others — comes under rigid
scrutiny of an inspector from
the Ontario department of
agriculture.
Inspector Fraser Galbraith,
Kerwoocl, spends all day
Tuesday at the Dashwood plant
— the day which Merner's
reserve for slaughtering.
The animals are subjected to
a pre-mortem and post-mortem
inspection, which not only is
done to determine that the
animal is healthy, but also that it
is properly cleaned and trimmed
by the butchers.
When the animal is judged
satisfactory, it is stamped with
an Ontario government label.
The carcasses are then taken
into the first cooler at the
abattoir where the temperature
is about 33 degrees. It stays here
for about 12 hours to take away
the body heat.
The carcass then goes into the
holding or aging cooler, where
the temperature is held between
36 and 38 degrees.
The aging of beef is a matter
of preference for custom killing
jobs, but Merner's prefer to age
their own beef between 10 and
14 days before it is sold at their
store in Dashwood.
Pork is much different, and
the fresher the better. "The best
thing is to butcher it today and
sell it tomorrow," Ron points
out.
After aging, the meat is
brought into the cutting and
wrapping room where Ron and
Lorne Vincent cut the meat into
the various saleable cuts.
Mrs. Jim Becker wraps the
meat with Vitafilm and it is then
placed in the deep freezer with a
temperature of between 10 and
12 degrees below zero. Meat
freezes overnight and is then
ready for the customer's freezer.
FAMOUS SAUSAGE
No item would be complete'
without mention of Dashwood
sausage, which is sold by
— please turn to page 13
And extend best
wishes on the
opening of their
modern abattoir
Modern Dashwood. abattoir
features latest in equipmen t
CONGRATULATIONS
PAPER PRODUCTS
Merner's Market
Price Wilson Ltd.
Mrs. Jim Becker handles the wrapping chores at Merner's and all
meat is wrapped in Vitafilm, which is guaranteed against freezer
burn, despite the fact it is very fine.
262 Talbot St.
Does It
Again.
PAPER PRODUCTS
ST. THOMAS
WAS INSTALLED BY
When the meat has been cut and
wrapped it is taken into the
freezer and stacked, as Ron
Merrier is shown doing above.
Congratulations to
Merner's Market
And thanks for choosing us to do the
ELECTRICAL WORK
and some of the
PLUMBING
on the ultra-modern abattoir
Kleinstiver Ltd.
MECHANICAL CONTRACTOR
Phone 237-8661
Dashwood
CONKLIN
LUMBER
We've been proud to
supply area builders
and homeowners on
their projects — large and
small — and we now
add Ron Merner to our
lengthy list.
Check our prices
and quality
and see why
the list grows
EXETER .2851422