The Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Forestry, through IAMA - Institute of Food and Agricultural Markets, ascertained that the pH values of carcasses slaughtered in regional slaughterhouses in the first two months of this year evidence the quality of the meat produced in the Azores.
 
In January and February of this year, 8,894 cattle carcasses were approved, mostly for export; 95.8% of screened carcasses showed pH values below 6.
 
The percentage even reached 100% in February in the slaughterhouses of Santa Maria, Graciosa, São Jorge, Faial and Flores.
 
Therefore, all carcasses screened during this period, either for domestic consumption or for export, complied with the international standards of quality.
 
The overall number of screened animals increased in the first two months of 2017 and the results reinforce the quality of meat slaughtered in the Azores.
 
This quality has been recognised by markets, as the export of the Azorean meat increased 25% in 2016 over the previous year.
 
The increase in exports is the result of the work of Azorean producers and distributors of this sector and the strategy followed by the Regional Government. This is reflected in the significant improvement of the regional slaughter network that will make an investment of 14 million Euros this year in the slaughterhouses of Faial, Graciosa, Terceira and São Miguel.