The first federally registered pre-rigor sow processing plant in Canada has opened up in Blumenort, Manitoba.

On January 11, Jowett Farms Corporation harvested a total of 15 sows at its new state-of-the-art facility.

Owner Robert Jowett says they can produce sausage within an hour of slaughtering the animal. He adds the quality of the meat is much better because they're not hanging it in coolers, which can cause breakdown in the muscles. The meat also has improved shelf life, with a lot of natural binding agents remaining in the product.

Jowett notes after a lot of research, they found that this was an untapped market in Canada.

"We found that a lot of processors in Canada have not had access to this product before, it's all gone down to the US...We decided to do it and we're getting a lot of interest from all over, but mainly Canada at the moment."

Jowett expects the new facility will create more than a hundred full-time jobs once the plant is up and running at full capacity.