Hot Carcass Weighing Period Begins for Red Meat
· Dünya Gazetesi
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is preparing a new regulation that will ensure beef carcass prices in the red meat market are determined directly based on hot weight after slaughter.
Hot Carcass Era Begins for Red Meat
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is preparing for a comprehensive change in the carcass weighing system, which directly affects producer payments in the red meat market. With the draft regulation opened for consultation, the market price of beef carcass will be determined directly based on hot carcass weight after slaughter. This new regulation will prevent hypothetical deductions of approximately 2% due to moisture loss during the cooling process after slaughter. While aiming for the producer's delivered product to find its true value, it is intended to completely end weighing-related disputes between businesses and fatteners.
Transparency and Authority Transfer in the Market
The new system plans to prevent unfairness caused by redundant shrinkage applications and different weighing methods in slaughterhouses across the country. Thus, by ensuring uniformity in measurements within the red meat supply chain, commercial trust between parties will be strengthened. Within the scope of the draft prepared by the Ministry, an institutional change of duty is also foreseen. The secretariat services, training activities, and field inspections related to carcass classification will be taken from the General Directorate of Food and Control and directly transferred to the General Directorate of Livestock.
Full Support from Sector Representatives
Evaluating the regulation, National Red Meat Council Chairman Ahmet Hacıince stated that the new system will protect the producer:
"Weighing is applied in hot form in almost all countries of the world, especially in European Union countries and the USA. With the acceptance of this weighing in the red meat sector, the producer sees the quantity of their product on the scale instantly and does not have to wait for the product to cool. Any potential abuse arising from the cooling period is eliminated. Inadequacies arising from cooling systems are not reflected in the weighing. The weighing is documented instantly, creating no legal loopholes. For these reasons, our council's opinion on the method of weighing is clear: weighing should be carried out within a maximum of one hour after the animals are slaughtered."