What Breed of Cattle
We take pride in selecting only the very best cattle, worthy of bearing the Norpac name. Norpac Beef primarily chooses exotic cattle breeds such as Limousine and Belgian Blue.
These cattle are high yielding, lean animals that produce a consistently tender product These breeds can also be crossed with Angus to increase marbling of the loin eye to satisfy specialty markets.
Emerson Gill, cattle buyer, and Matt Heleniak, VP/cattle buyer, use their extensive experience and training to select only the finest and most humanely raised cattle for the Norpac brand.
Raising the Cattle
All of the cattle that Norpac Beef selects are 100 percent Canadian in origin. These cattle have spent the majority of their time on grass pastures with their respective herds. After spending 12-14 months under these conditions the cattle are moved to our very comfortable barns. These barns use straw pack bedding systems and have above average space and air quality.
Feeding the Cattle
Secret custom finishing feed for the Norpac Brand Richard Heleniak along with Dr. David Price, a well-known cattle nutritionist, created a custom-made, vegetarian pellet ration designed to be fed with a whole-corn base.
The pellets are scientifically formulated to include essential vitamins and minerals, locally grown corn and the necessary roughage for healthy growth. This ration is made available to all Norpac cattle by the preferred method of feeding—free choice, 24 hours a day. Norpac makes every effort to support local producers when purchasing feed inputs.
Animal Handling and Care
Norpac takes great pride in keeping their cattle in a low stress environment prior to processing. Upon arrival at our facility in very clean and spacious trucks, cattle are offered free-choice water and feed and are kept in holding pens that are heavily bedded with clean straw. Cattle must arrive at the Norpac facility at least 15 hours prior to processing. This allows the cattle to relax, which results in a more tender beef product. Adherence to these protocols provides a positive energy for the cattle—which is the foundation of the Norpac business model.
Anti-Bacterial Shrouding Process
Norpac Beef is the only processor that uses the anti bacterial shrouding process to ensure enhanced quality. Beef sides are shrouded throughout the cooling process, which not only enhances the carcass presentation but also provides an exceptional eye-appealing final cut product.
Dry Chilling
To further enhance quality, Norpac still uses the old-fashioned air chilled method, whereas most other processing plants use water during the chilling process. Although this causes extra shrinkage, and a resulting incurred cost, the finished product has much higher yields, less purge, and lasts longer in primal form to benefit Norpac’s customers.
Quality Assurance
Norpac takes pride in their bright, clean and employee-friendly facility.
Upon entering the holding coolers, all sides are physically selected and red branded with the Canadian Grading Agency given grade (A to AAA/Prime) by a Norpac primal manager according to customer specifications. This ensures that all Norpac beef products meet customer needs and expectations.
Yield/Tenderness/Quality
By combining all of these processes and hand trimming everything down to quarter inch specs, Norpac is able to create a beef product that is unmatched in yield potential and consistent tenderness. Norpac is able to bring all of these great processes together to create a product that is impossible for large companies to duplicate.
Service
Norpac has always prided itself in being a very approachable and available company. We aim to treat our customers not as numbers, but as partners in bringing our beef to the tables of Ontarians. Norpac has still not engaged in computer answering services and utilizes a trained staff to answer phones and any questions on a person-to- person basis. Our main goal is to make sure that all of our customers receive their desired product in a timely and efficient fashion.
The Beef.
Pledge.
Norpac Beef pledges to remain the premier choice for beef product in the province. We treat our customers as we do our family: with honesty and integrity. We pledge to uphold the highest standards in cattle husbandry, procurement and precessing methods while maintaining the unwavering level of safety and quality you have come to expect from Norpac.