M&S supplier Scotbeef, a pioneer of traceability and the producer club concept, has opened a new £7m abattoir at Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire. With capacity of 2,000 head weekly, it challenges Northampton based Midland Meat Packers as the biggest single site abattoir in the UK. Scotbeef, a private company chaired by Ian Galloway ­ recently honoured with a lifetime achievement award by the Royal Highland Society (The Grocer, June 24, p8) ­ illustrates the complex economics of meat supply. Galloway took the decision to build the plant two years ago, when the beef market was still mired in the BSE crisis, and it comes on stream as overcapacity worries emerge again. {{MEAT }}

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