Our Commitment to Humane Animal Handling  

Excellent care of animals raised for our food products is a top priority for the Fontelli Food Group. At all times, our objective is to ensure the animals’ well being, from their time on veal farms through transportation to processing and harvest. Market-ready veal calves weigh an average of between 500 and 650 pounds and their humane treatment is our responsibility as a food producer and our obligation as a family. We have worked diligently in our eight decades of business to instill those same values in our employees, our suppliers and across the veal community.

Our state-of-the-art, SQF Certified veal and lamb abattoir–North America’s largest–has been designed using guidelines created by Dr. Temple Grandin, world-recognized authority on humane animal handling.

Accountability, responsibility, continuous improvement, and thorough ongoing monitoring remain at the heart of the Fontelli Food Group animal welfare program. Where there are opportunities to do more than what is required, we do so.

Our Humane Animal Handling Program

• The current policies and procedures that the Fontelli Food Group uses handling calves have been created and approved by Dr. Temple Grandin, nationally recognized third party humane animal handling authority.
• It has been our long-standing policy that no non-ambulatory livestock will be processed.
• Our veal harvest plant is the only veal plant to install Arrowsight, 24/7 third party remote video surveillance and auditing of animal handling and processing procedures. Arrowsight is a program also developed in cooperation with Dr. Grandin.
• All our humane handling personnel are trained on a regular basis.
• Frequent inspections and documented confirmation of proper operation of all equipment used in the harvest.
• Recurring quality assurance audits of the harvest process following FSNS and C&A guidelines.
• Our company provides special training on proper animal handling and transportation procedures to all employees responsible for our livestock.
• At the request of any of our retail or food service customers, our company underwrites the cost of any qualified representative of a recognized third party auditing firm they select to inspect our facilities and verify our processes.