General information about the sector

The biggest part of EU meat consumption is attributed to processed meat (as canned, cured, cooked etc.). The meat processing sector consists of every activity related to the production of meat preparation and meat products.

In EU-28 more than 24,000 companies exist under the umbrella of meat processing sector with a total production value of 86 billion EUR. Additionally, a number of more than 421,000 persons are employed in meat processing sector, being one of the largest number for the whole EU food process industry.

The majority (90%) of enterprises in EU meat processing is SMEs and is characterized by specialization in operating independently at different stages of the supply chain. This is specifically the case of the beef and pig meat sectors. Larger companies (processing facility storages, owning slaughterhouses) are only a small part of the EU meat process industry and they are mainly in the poultry sector (BREF document "Food, Drink and Milk Industries" (January 2017)).

Industrial Activity (NACE Code C10.1)

Brine effluent in meat processing

There are many stages in meat processing such as canning, cooking etc. However, according to (BREF document "Food, Drink and Milk Industries" (January 2017)) the processes that generate brine wastewater are curing (Salting, dry salting, vessel salting, injection) and pickling. These processes generate wastewaters containing brines and meat juice. The following table summarizes the parameters to consider for the brine wastewater characterization generated from meat processing.

Key parameters for meat processing brine wastewater characterization