PUBLIREPORTAGE

Slaughterhouse Les Viandes du Pontiac

Local meat: Fresh, healthy, ethical and local

Nicolas Sabourin

The Pontiac slaughterhouse, Les Viandes du Pontiac, offers meats from local farms. Their farming partners raise their grass-fed animals in large areas on their farmlands. They are hormone-free and antibiotic-free. No preservatives are used to keep the freshness of the meat that is vacuum-packed. This is an overview of the quality products and services offered by Les Viandes du Pontiac slaughterhouse.

What is most important for co-owner Alain Lauzon and his team is to offer ethical products of superior quality to promote the excellent work of Outaouais breeders and farmers. 

The team at the salughterhouse is made up of a dozen employees (men and women) from the community, the majority of whom come from farms and still live there. They therefore ensure the proper treatment of animals during their breeding. At the slaughterhouse, animals are treated with the utmost respect and care in the slaughter process.

The Chief Operating Officer Eric Chartrand, (the handyman) of Les Viandes du Pontiac is a well-known butcher who worked for over twenty years at Marché Laflamme in Aylmer. He is supported by a team of professionals who are dedicated to their profession.

The meat cuts are personalized and directly meet the customers’ needs. “We do not set ourselves a number of animals per week to slaughter; we therefore produce orders that we receive in order to avoid waste as much as possible and to keep our products very fresh,” explained Mr Chartrand.

In addition to producing in reasonable quantities, Les Viandes du Pontiac tries as hard as it can to get their cattle from farmers near the slaughterhouse, which reduces transportation-related carbon emissions but also provides local farmers with a business opportunity to resume the beef and veal market that has gradually moved to Ontario in recent years. 

The slaughterhouse is built with the latest innovations and is at the cutting edge of technology. The facilities are washed every evening under high pressure with hot water to keep the workplace clean and healthy.

The slaughterhouse is under continuous inspection; that is, a veterinarian and a MAPAQ inspector are always present on slaughter days to control and inspect the quality of meat that goes out to market.

For Mr Lauzon, promoter of the project and co-owner, “Our goal as a team is really to do things according to the rules of the art because we are in an agri-food industry. Whether in our relationships with the local community, animals and our various partners, this is at the base of our operation. Our goal is to provide a product and services that exceed our customers’ expectations.”

The slaughterhouse offers many cuts of meat (beef, veal, lamb and goat). The facility is Halal-certified. They serve all the communities.

Local hunters are also welcome in the slaughterhouse because the facilities are built to accommodate and prepare game (moose, deer, bear, etc.), including a meat-cutting and aging service. 

The products are available online and they offer a meat-cutting and ripening service to farmers and breeders for their own consumption and for their customers.