Process

1. Our animal feeds.

   The animal feed that supplies all the Explotacions Artigas farms is produced under the same brand name in the town of Camós, Pla de l’Estany.

   Using our own traceability system, we know the origin of the raw materials in every batch of feed and its composition, as well as the destination silo, which makes it possible to provide a personalised menu for each facility.

   Correct feeding is a vital part of the entire livestock production process. A good diet does not consist of forcing growth, but of taking advantage at every moment of the animal’s genetic characteristics, something we are able to do thanks to constant supervision of all the processes involved in feeding.

   When formulating our animal feed we seek a balance between the vegetable fats provided by premium cereals (corn, barley and wheat) and the proteins from soya and peas, which results in the highest quality carcasses in our slaughterhouse and, logically, in the final product.

2. Our farms.

   Explotacions Artigas strives to adapt continuously to consumer demands. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to have a large amount of human, technical and material assets. Every day, Explotacions Artigas employs all of its resources — genetics, farms, technical and laboratory controls, veterinary monitoring, compliance with European regulations on animal welfare and adapted diets — towards achieving the objective it has set itself.

   With our pigs, we begin by selecting the mothers. This research is determined by the productive and reproductive characteristics of the sows, after which we look for the most suitable males in order to obtain the best quality meat. From this selection come the piglets which are fattened on farms owned by Explotacions Artigas, located mainly in the regions of Pla de l’Estany and Empordà.

   With our cattle, the selection begins by choosing the calves, which are always Simmental, Belgian Blue or Friesian breeds. The lactation period is adjusted according to the animal’s weight and feeding is complemented with a starter food. Growth and fattening are carried out using specially adapted diets for each breed.

   All these processes are closely supervised by Explotacions Artigas staff. Veterinarians and farmers work with the aim of rearing animals that reach their optimum weight at the right age for slaughter, according to what our clients request from the slaughterhouse.

3. The slaughterhouse.

   Every day we have a pre-determined schedule of all the animals due to enter our slaughterhouse to guarantee the best monitoring of traceability. Once the animals enter the premises we check on their condition and accompanying documentation.

   Every week we slaughter approximately 5,500 head of swine (10% of which are 85% Duroc pigs), 600 head of calves and around 120 head of cows. We follow the SEUROP classification system.

   At the pig slaughterhouse we work with daily batches and, for the Q-label pork and black Q-label pork, we generate individual labels for the prime cuts.

   As regards veal and beef, we link the animal’s ear tag with the Cattle Identification Document that accompanies it, which allows us to identify the carcass with a total of eight labels that guarantee traceability.

4. The cutting.

   Attached to the pig slaughterhouse, we have the cutting room where we use a traditional continuous line working method.

   Attached to the cattle slaughterhouse, we have a cutting and packing room with capacity for 100 head per day.

   The quartering and cutting process begins after the carcasses have been refrigerated for 24 hours. The carcasses are quartered and the half-carcasses cut up, after which the pieces are dressed, vacuum packed and labelled.

   In each process of handling any part or piece of the animal, new labels are created depending on the workstation and destination of the piece.

   Each new label generates information through a barcode, and this data is stored on a computer.

   We offer our clients the possibility of changing the form of cutting up the piece and the type of packaging according to their technical specifications.

5. Fillets and prepared meats.

   At Artigas we have a specific format for each client, from 250g trays to 2.5kg trays, filled with our very best meat.

   We are experts at presenting our meat on its tray, as the image of a well-finished product is very important when it is sold in a self-service environment.