February 22, 2021
 

Ontario, Canada, aims to expand meat processing with $127,000 investment

Canada and the country's province, Ontario, are investing $127,000 to support a research initiative by Meat and Poultry Ontario (MPO), part of an effort to to expand Ontario's meat processing industry.

The project will identify opportunities to increase meat processing capacity in order to address a growing demand for abattoir services across the province.

The demand for processing facilities in Ontario, especially in the north, continues to grow. In response, MPO has begun researching a strategy that pairs skills development with innovative technologies to increase efficiency and capacity across the sector. This work builds on three additional federal-provincial funding programmes introduced over the last year to deal with more urgent challenges, with efforts that entail:

- $2 million for food safety initiatives;

- $2.25 million for provincial meat plants to make workplace modifications to increase worker health and safety during COVID-19;

- $4 million for rapid measures to increase capacity;

The project is funded under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year, $3-billion commitment by Canada's federal, provincial and territorial governments that supports the country's agri-food and agri-products sectors.

There are 480 provincially licensed and 230 federally licensed facilities (abattoirs and free-standing meat plants) in Ontario.

- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada