Beyond the Farm Imagine there is an apple tree growing outside your door, and on its lowest branch hangs a perfect apple. You want to taste that apple while it's still brimming with life, so you pick it and immediately take a bite. How different would the flesh of that apple look and taste if you instead took it inside, cut it into slices, and stored it in the fridge for a few days? Because most people can't raise a pig outside their back door, then slaughter and eat it in one sitting, special fabrication steps have been designed to preserve the good qualities fresh meat has, until it is ready to be cooked and eaten. Truebridge pork is like that perfect apple. Its attributes have been carefully selected to satisfy customers who are unsatisfied with commodity pork and willing to pay for high standards. Because it took months of careful husbandry for the farmers to bring these qualities into being, it is a shame if handling during the processing stage diminishes them in any way. Much effort is taken to ensure the fine characteristics are kept intact and each piece is finished with a perfectly tailored cut. Truebridge spent a great deal of time finding the right processing plant to work with on this important task. The plant is small, close to the farms where the pigs are raised, and capable of performing custom work. Truebridge has a dedicated team of slaughter and fabrication evaluators, who are present every week to observe and collect data. They share their information openly with both the plant staff and customers, which improves slaughter and fabrication standards and fosters a spirit of collaboration. Through this process Truebridge understands the perspective and abilities of its plant, while facilitating the needs of its customers. It is highly unusual for a company to be this closely involved in the slaughter and fabrication processes, but Truebridge assumes the added responsibility of watching over its pork at every stage, "from birth to box," because this is the only way to maintain an iron-clad guarantee of traceability.