Danish Bacon

Danish Bacon is a brand under which Danish bacon is sold in the United Kingdom. The product has "Danish" stamped on the rind between wavy lines. The Danish farmers producing Danish Bacon and their co-operatives are represented by Danske Slagterier, whose UK subsidiary is the Danish Bacon and Meat Council.

Organisation and output

Most Danish pig farms are members of one of two large farmer-owned co-operatives which account for 95% of pigs slaughtered. The largest of these is Danish Crown which alone accounts for 90%.^[1] All export is through these two co-operatives. A number of smaller slaughterhouses operate outside this system for domestic supply, but none have a licence to export. Although costs are high in Denmark and the industry there is highly regulated, the country has nevertheless developed a competitive advantage through large scale integrated organisation by its co-operatives. There are no markets or auctions in this system. Prices are set on a weekly basis by a committee of Danske Slagterier thus making a large saving on transportation costs as there is less need to move animals around.^[2]

Around 25 million pigs are slaughtered per year, which is 5 pigs for every Dane.^[3] Pig production is still increasing.^[1] In the decade to 2002 pig production grew from 17.7 million to 21.4 million and reached 24.7 million in 2004.^[4] Future growth is planned at 2% per year. 75% of this production goes to export.^[2]

History

In the 19th century, Denmark's main food export was grain to the UK, but it was outcompeted by the USA and Russia and began to switch to pigs and butter from dairy herds.^[4] Denmark was first triggered into starting pig exports to the United Kingdom in 1847 after Germany, to whom Denmark had been exporting since the Middle Ages, chose to ban the import of live pigs. The Danish imports were welcomed in the UK; the growth in population following the Industrial Revolution meant that the country was no longer self-sufficient in food. British workers on average pay, at the time, consumed bacon two to three times a week. By the end of the 19th century, 90% of Danish exports went to the UK making Denmark the main supplier, replacing the USA who previously held that position. Danish Bacon still had more than 25% of the UK market in the 1980s.^[5]

Attempts were made to modernise British bacon production along Danish lines in the 1930s, but this was not altogether successful at displacing Danish bacon.^[6] Danish bacon remained a major item of discussion in trade negotiations between the two countries and complaints about the disjointedness of British bacon production compared to that from Denmark were still taking place in Parliament in the 1950s.^[7][8] Danish bacon established a reputation in Britain; attempts by other countries, such as Canada, to establish bacon imports into Britain during this period used Danish bacon as the quality standard against which their product was judged.^[9]

Modernisation

Production methods moved from the traditional dry-curing process of rubbing salt, spices and sugar into the bacon to the less labour intensive wet-curing in which the bacon is left to soak in brine. Wet-curing can also be used to increase the water content of the meat to add bulk and to add sodium nitrate and phosphates to shorten the process. This can be as short as six hours compared to 2–3 days for dry-curing.^[5]

There has been a growing movement by the co-operatives to centralise the slaughterhouse and bacon processing plants into ever larger establishments. The plants have been moved out of Denmark to more economically advantageous locations and this has partially happened to the slaughterhouses too, leaving Denmark to concentrate on just the raising of the pigs.^[10] In the 1960s, vacuum packing and automated slicing were introduced which were carried out in plants in the UK.^[5] In the 1970s, mixed farms were still common, but farms then became more specialised in pig rearing and the process more industrialised. The number of farmer-owned co-operatives fell from 62 in 1962 to just two today.^[4]

Denmark imports bacon

In 2001, 5% of bacon consumed in Denmark was imported. During 2004 and 2005, bacon production was moved to Germany, and especially Poland where costs are lower. This almost immediately resulted in imports climbing to 75% and the price falling to one-third of Danish-produced bacon.^[11] However, the product is still marketed as Danish bacon, since it is produced from Danish pigs. In Danish shops, it is not possible to buy Danish sliced bacon that has been sliced in Denmark. Danish consumers have expressed unhappiness with what they perceive to be a deceptive practice.^[3] In the UK, slicing and packaging of Danish bacon continues to be carried out in UK plants owned by Danish Crown.^[2]

The UK pig

A specific system is in place to produce pigs for the UK market and these are referred to as UK pigs. The specification for these pigs is not only determined by UK legislation but also by conditions set by the UK supermarkets who are the main customers.^[12] Similar schemes are in operation to produce pigs for other markets, such as organic pigs raised to EU Council regulations.^[13]

The UK pig system was introduced following a call in the late 1990s by William Hague, the leader of the British Conservative Party (at the time in opposition) to ban Danish bacon. Hague claimed that the "sow stall" system used in Denmark put British pig farmers at a competitive disadvantage since they were not allowed to use this system due to British animal welfare regulations. UK supermarkets responded by demanding improved pig welfare conditions which resulted in the UK pig with sows able to move freely. Danish farmers are paid a supplement to cover the additional cost of rearing UK pigs.^[14]

Sow stalls were again criticised by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in 2009 and the response from the Danish Bacon industry make it clear that they are still in use on some farms, but they confirm that they will all be phased out by the EU deadline of 2013.^[15]

Bacon butty research

In 2007, the Danish Bacon and Meat Council commissioned research at Leeds University into what features make a perfect bacon butty (the researchers refused to use the term sandwich deeming this to be incorrect terminology). Among the findings were that texture and crispiness of the bacon were just as important as taste.^[16]

See also

Bacon portal

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Coff et al., p.83.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Coff et al., p.85.
3. ^ ^{a b} Coff et al., p.80.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Coff et al., p.84.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Coff et al., p.90.
6. ^ "Trade regulations and commercial policy of the United Kingdom", vol.3, Economic and social studies / National Institute of Economic and Social Research, pp.89–92, CUP Archive, 1943.
7. ^ Sevaldsen, pp.256–260
8. ^ "House of Commons (Parliamentary debate)" 11th March 1955, Hansard, National Academies, 1955.
9. ^ N. T. Gridgeman, Biological sciences at the National Research Council of Canada: the early years to 1952, p.31, Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press, 1979, ISBN 0889200823.
10. ^ Coff et al., p.86.
11. ^ Coff et al., p.91.
12. ^ Coff et al., pp.88–89.
13. ^ Coff et al., p.87.
14. ^ Coff et al., pp.90–91.
15. ^ DBMC Response to 'Jamie Saves Our Bacon' (Channel 4 – Thursday 29th January 2009) press release from Danish Bacon and Meat Council, January 2009.
16. ^ "The Perfect Bacon Sandwich Decoded: Crisp and Crunchy", New York Times, 11th April 2007.

Bibliography

• Christian Coff, David Barling, Michiel Korthals, Thorkild Nielsen, Ethical Traceability and Communicating Food, Springer, 2008 ISBN 1402085230.
• Jørgen Sevaldsen, Bo Bjørke, Claus Bjørn, Britain and Denmark: political, economic, and cultural relations in the 19th and 20th centuries, Museum Tusculanum Press, 2003 ISBN 8772897503.

External links

• Danish Bacon and Meat Council official site.