The proper way of dressing a beef carcase is laid out in EU legislation, which defines the standard to which beef carcases should be presented before weighing in the factory.

There is scope for national variations but where these are used, a coefficient has to be applied to convert the dressed carcase weight to what it would be under the EU reference specification. One such example is Northern Ireland, where there is trimming of the bed and brisket fat before the animal is weighed. This is the predominant trim used by factories, particularly the larger ones in Britain and it is known as the UK reference specification.

The legislation clearly states what parts of the animal can be removed prior to it crossing the scale. These are listed in the panel on page 45 and are reasonably well understood by farmers who present cattle for slaughter regularly.

There is also provision in the specification for trimming or dressing of fat on the carcase. This is well defined in legislation, although there is some revision of the wording ongoing to clarify further, particularly in relation to trim around the neck of the animal.

It is this trimming that has the potential to create controversy with farm organisations demanding a permanent presence of personnel on the factory floor, in addition to the scrutiny inspections undertaken by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) staff.

There are five areas of the carcase that are allowed to be trimmed by legislation, but not excessively so. These are around the topside where the tail is removed – cod or udder fat, the flank which is under the animal’s stomach, the brisket which lies under the neck and the neck itself, where the sticking of the animal takes place at the point of slaughter.

Carcase dressing isn’t a surgical procedure but the legislation is clear in what is and what is not allowed at each of these points and described in detail in the accompanying photographs.

These pictures, supplied by the DAFM, illustrate what is an acceptable standard of dressing, and what is not.

Skilled factory operatives usually achieve the required standard but there are occasions when they do not. This is because of hide puller damage, especially on plainer cows or careless knife work by factory personnel. The brisket and around the neck, where the animal is bled, are the most common areas for problems judging by complaints to the Irish Farmers Journal.

A further feature of dissent is that there are many factories that are never complained about whereas others feature regularly.

The standard of factory dressing is monitored by DAFM staff and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) staff in the north. The results of inspections in factories that have mechanical grading (VIA) machines are published on the DARD website every two months, though the identity of the factories is hidden. The most recent results are shown in Table 1.

The DAFM is carrying out approximately 50,000 inspections annually in factories with their counterparts in Northern Ireland doing around 15,000.

There is ongoing debate on how adequate this level of monitoring is and it regularly features on the Beef Forum agenda with all the farming organisations calling for a permanent presence of officials in factories to monitor dressing.

While a permanent presence would enhance scrutiny, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee perfection as there can be an element familiarity through looking at something all the time.

External inspections bring an intensive and specific focus on dressing, though looking at carcases in chills is very much after the event. A permanent presence by staff performing other duties doesn’t necessarily mean every single animal is scrutinised. However, the fact that they would see so many should mean that factory staff would be extra vigilant.

A further possible scrutiny could be achieved by building on the system in place in Northern Ireland. If factories were named alongside their performance as found on the inspection and results published, farmers could judge for themselves who is performing well and who is not.

Over a period, a pattern would emerge and if consistently high performance was published, then the carcase trim would cease to be an issue and offenders would be outed.

The IFA and the ICSA have made multiple representations to the Department of Agriculture to request the presence of inspectors when carcases are graded at beef processing plants.

According to the new public register of lobbying activities in which interest groups must declare their contacts with politicians and civil servants, the IFA has used multiple forms of communication, including meetings with Department of Agriculture assistant secretary Brendan Gleeson and other officials, to discuss controls over beef carcase classification.

Since the registration of such activities began in September, the organisation has been lobbying repeatedly for improved controls, requesting that authorised officers from the Department “be appointed to continuously monitor classification and trim in meat plants”.

The ICSA, too, has been pushing this issue in “informal communications” with Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney and six TDs from the majority and opposition benches, “looking to secure permanent staff to monitor grading machines, trim, angle of neck cut and provide for appeals process regarding grades and fat scores”.

Lack of trust

The lobbying records reflect the long-running lack of trust between farmers’ representatives and beef processors on fair grading and pricing.

Such permanent presence in factories would require large numbers of Department inspectors to cover all slaughterings.

The Irish Farmers Journal from time to time receives complaints from farmers who believe their cattle weren’t dressed (or trimmed) properly.

As a typical slaughter line in a factory can handle over 50 cattle per hour, there isn’t much time for a farmer to see what is going on, so we have produced pictures – provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) – to illustrate how cattle should be trimmed. There are five specific points as marked on the carcase outline and each of these is then demonstrated in the accompanying pictures.

There is a debate around the level of scrutiny on how well factories comply with the standards that are set out in legislation.

DAFM inspectors checked over 50,000 cattle in 2015, while their northern counterparts check around 15,000 in a year. They are both confident that standards are being complied with. However, it is an issue that never goes away and farmer representatives have been calling for a permanent presence of scrutineers in factories through the beef forum. Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has agreed to further strengthen controls in factories. While extra scrutiny would enhance the inspection process, it still wouldn’t guarantee full compliance as shoddy practice in an isolated example could be missed.

A further option could be the extension of the NI system of publishing the results of inspections. They do so but without revealing the identity of the factory.

If the factories were named alongside their score, it would quickly become evident which, if any, factories were not maintaining the required standard.