So the pig processing plant was called Supercerdo and is able to process 400 hogs per day. Pretty much they stun the incoming hog with gas, hook it up to the conveyer, finish killing them by slitting their throats and letting them bleed out, boil the carcass and send them through a tumbler for hair removal, torch the de-haired carcass to give it some color (carcass is naturally yellow), cut open the carcass and remove and wash th internal organs (which are sold), disinfect the carcass and then send it to a cooler. After the slaughtering process, the head and feet are removed, skin is removed, the meat is processed and cut and packaged.
The chicken processing plant, called Superpollo, is able to process 120,000 birds per day. Chickens are electrocuted and then bled out, boiled for better color and easy feather removal, taken through an ice bath to chill, disinfected, and then the meat is processed and packaged. One of the machines had broken down, so we didn't get o see any chickens on the line, which was kind of disappointing. But the company does own their own chicken and hog farms. Also, the processing plants are in seperate buildings to avoid cross-contamination. Trucks bring in the live hogs and chickens and then refrigerated trucks take the final products to market. The sanitation in both today's and yesterday's slaughter-houses was very strict and up to code even by U.S. standards.
The avocado producers association plant is non-profit and has 420 producers involved. The avocados are cleaned and polished and then the bad ones are sorted out before the machine sorts the fruit by weight. It was a very simple process and pictures should be coming soon. Some avocado facts:
*Colombia's avocados are used domestically and exported mainly to Holland, where they are considered a delicacy and consumed as dessert in juice or whole form (eaten like an apple)
*Guacamolé is a Mexican term
*a new avocado tree takes 2-3 years to begin producing but will then produce for 10-14 years
*there are two avocado harvests per year; one big (better harvest) and another smaller one. This is because of the climate and weather patterns. Lots of rain will knock off flowers and damage the yields.
*avocados cannot be grown in a greenhouse
*green skin means that the avocado is not ripe, blackened skin is ripe
*small avocados are better for individual consumption while larger are better for guacamolé production because peeling becomes more efficient
The flower farm produced mostly gerbera daisies. Pretty much these flowers are exported via air to Miami or by sea to Europe. The flowers stay fresh by being in cool temperatures and treated with citric acid. The goal is to keep them fresh until 10 days after the final consumer receives them (something like 20ish days). There's lots of pictures of this tour, which will be posted eventually.
We also visited a small family business that made and sold Arepas Doratas, which are made from corn, sugar and water. They're kind of like a pancake, but not. They almost tast like a kind of fritter mixed with creamed corn. Pictures on the next page.
For dinner most of us enjoyed Argentinian beef, which is absolutely delicious. We then debriefed for Colombia. Tomorrow's another early morning and long day as we fly from Medellin to Panama City to Orlando and then I go on to Atlanta and then Bloomington. Keep checking back for pictures and summaries of Panamanian and Colombian agriculture. I had a great trip and met a bunch of awesome people and learned a lot about international agriculture :)