From the holders, the carcasses are taken to the deboning hall to separate the meat from the bones.The carcass is then processed further.
The entire deboning process is subject to food safety procedures as stipulated in the handbooks. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (VWA) checks whether all the rules and regulations have been adhered to. The employees who carry out the deboning process have all received special training and are properly qualified.
In the photograph’s foreground, you can see the back of an employee who is removing a hipbone from a hanging carcass. This used to be done on a table, and removing the hipbone was very hard work. Nowadays, automation lends a helping hand, and the employee no longer has to lift and manoeuvre the carcass to remove the bone. Instead, it is simply a question of placing a hook behind the hipbone and letting the machine slowly pull it out. The employee trims the meat away at the same time to produce a nice, clean bone.