UPDATE: Ontario meat processor benefits from investment

Brampton, Ont. – A family owned meat-processing company is purchasing new equipment that offers a wide range of capabilities, and is innovative and leading edge.

Cardinal Meat Specialists Ltd. says it is purchasing new portion-controlled protein manufacturing equipment.

Brent Cator, president of Cardinal Meat Specialists, told Food in Canada that the new equipment provides a sealed environment cook technology.

“It offers more food safety and longer shelf life for products that are more natural – more so than what any other technology out there today offers,” he says.

In a release from the federal government, the company says it is the first in Canada to apply this new technology.

The improvements the technology brings will allow the company to launch new products, increase production and sales, and support the creation of new jobs.

Enhanced production also means an increase in the company’s procurement of Canadian beef, pork, and wheat, profiting domestic farmers.

“The AgriProcessing Initiative fits perfectly with Cardinal’s philosophy of striving to lead our industry in the generation of useful innovation, and will help Cardinal develop niche products, stimulate competitiveness in, and expand, the Canadian agri-processing marketplace,” says Cator.

“This program supports strong leaders such as Cardinal and further develops Canada’s role in sustainable, long-term growth strategies in market segments.”

The Cator family started on a farm, then ran butcher shops in Bowmanville and Toronto. Cardinal Meat Specialists was established in 1966 and today markets and manufactures high-quality, portion-controlled meat products. One of its facilities specializes in burgers and another facility focuses on a wide range of innovative and fully cooked meats.