Ghanaian firm sets standards in quality meat processing

Danish Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation, Mogens Jensen, has lauded a Kumasi-based meat processing firm for its standards in meat processing.

Santinos Fine Meats and Sausages Limited has over ten years of experience in the industry, providing healthy and high quality animal products from its own farm.

The company specializes in the retail sale and wholesale distribution of beef, chicken, pork, lamb and goat.

“Ninety percent of our health depends on what we eat, so we are saying to every Ghanaian, eat well, feel well and reduce your medical expenses,” said Managing Director of Santinos, David Kwabena Ntim.

Santinos is a beneficiary of a Danish-Ghanaian business-to-business partnership to build local capacity for value addition in the meat and food industry.

The collaborative initiative of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) has helped establish the firm as an indigenous Ghanaian meat manufacturing plant with Danish standards.

“What Santinos has established here is a café, together with the shop where people can go out, sit and eat the nice products; that hasn’t happened in Denmark yet, so I’ll want to see the first butchery in Denmark who opens up a café where we can enjoy the nice products,” said the Danish Minister.

Mr. Jensen, who has been visiting projects established between Danish and Ghanaian companies, describes the relationship between the two economies as a win-win situation.

“This has been a very good cooperation because you have all the products here, all the ingredients for making nice foods and then Denmark you have some technologies in how to prepare the foods in a special way so you get a high quality,” he said.

The Danish Trade Minister has challenged Santinos to expand the meat processing plant and meat shop beyond the Ashanti region to other parts of Ghana, especially the capital city, Accra.

Mr. Ntim has welcomed the challenge, stating his company’s future plan is to empower Ghanaians to venture meat processing as a profession.

“I want to create businesses for other Ghanaians,” he said. “We want to open franchises for every Ghanaian that is interested; Santinos wants to retain itself as a retailer, so they can come and take a look at what we are doing here at the meat shop and we can make a meat shop for anybody where is ready to invest in it.”

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh