Many people believe that the good taste of a cut of pork is entirely the chef’s doing. But Belgian Pork Group and the T&W pig farmers know all too well that other factors such as the pig breed and the environment also play a crucial role in the taste of the pork.
Belgian Pork Group actively promotes Belgian pork by focussing on taste, texture and dripping loss. This involves internal and external testing with a professional audience, as well as several consumer tests.
Codiplan provides a sector manual and private specifications for primary production. It lists all the legal requirements that a livestock farm must fulfil to keep animals.
People in families know each other, speak to each other and support each other. In good and bad times. We are convinced that these played a crucial role in the growth in our industry and will continue to do so in the future.
Efficiency, flexibility and dedication are indispensable. That is why we prefer working with family-operated pig farms for our T&W pigs, people who turn the daily care for their animals and the passion with which they rear their animals into superior taste and quality.
PSE stands for Pale, Soft and Exudative. This is pale, soft meat with a low water-binding capacity. These properties must be avoided at all cost.
The main cause of PSE is stress in pigs. PSE can be detected by measuring the meat’s pH.
Specific measures that T&W pig farmers commit to taking:
At Belgian Pork Group, our main concern is the planet and its future. Our job is to take this into account at every step and search for improvements. T&W pig farmers also have various options to contribute to sustainable development.
Investments such as solar panels, the use of waste flows, the use of own raw materials, green energy ... all contribute to this. Any initiative that the T&W pig farmer takes in this framework has our full support.
T&W pig farmers must have an action plan for waste, water and manure management.
Creating a healthy environment on a pig farm involves taking a number of measures to minimise the risk of introduction or spread of pathogens. The main objective of each T&W pig farmer is to rear the pigs in the most responsible and most cost-effective way possible. This can only be achieved if the pigs are kept in good health.
The world is continually evolving, so it is vital that we continually evolve in line with it. Belgian Pork Group, its employees and the T&W pig farmers are keenly aware that well-trained employees are crucial, which is why they invest in various training programmes every year:
Boar taint is an unpleasant odour that is released when pork is cooked. Research has shown that many consumers are susceptible to this odour. To reduce boar taint as much as possible, the following measures must be enforced when keeping intact boars:
The Belgian meat industry often tends to resorts to clichés when discussing sustainability. Moreover, the impact of meat is not only determined by the meat industry itself, but throughout the chain, from the farmer to the consumer. At Belgian Pork Group, we take the necessary initiatives to reduce our environmental impact.
The social standard is increasingly shifting and pig farming without antibiotics is the way forward. That is why we strive to completely eliminate antibiotics at Belgian Pork Group.
Frequent use of antibiotics paves the way for antibiotic resistance.We know that this resistance can be transmitted from animals to people. People who are in direct contact with animals such as pig farmers are much more at risk of this transmission. Antibiotic resistance is not only a public health threat. Reducing antibiotics also contributes to a more positive image of our industry.