WHAT WE EAT

I visited an interesting factory the other day. It makes just one product, meat protein, which is then used in a host of other food items. The plant is situated in the middle of nowhere in the north of Denmark, and employs around 70 people. There is only one other factory of its kind in the country.

The protein is made from two inputs; porcine bone meal (i.e. minced up pig bones) and porcine skin. Being Denmark, with lots of piggies, there is ample raw material around. That raw material is then boiled, diced, milled, dried, blended and packed, before being sent off in large bags to sausage makers and their ilk. The building was a mass of pipes, conveyors, hoppers, silos, pumps, washing facilities, grinders, weighing machines and extractors. And hanging over everything was a funny sort of smell, part pig, part disinfectant, part washing-up liquid.

It was, at the same time, both fascinating and repellant. Fascinating because of its size and complexity, repellant as you dimly become aware of one of the things that goes into a large proportion of your food. When I told my 16-year old (and vegetarian) daughter about it, I could see a look of revulsion cross her face. As for me, I think it will be some time before I eat another sausage.

Walter Blotscher