In order to determine typical and atypical operations in the slaughtering and dressing of pigs for pork and bacon practices and operations were recorded at eight pig abattoirs. Data included physical parameters such as temperatures and durations. The results indicate that plants are reasonably similar if processing pigs mainly for pork, but those processing mainly for bacon had more aggressive singeing and polishing (black scraper) arrangements. The plants visited used either hot water (tank) or vertical (sprayed hot water) scalding systems prior to dehairing. This study was carried out to establish a microbiological and physical process baseline which would then enable effective existing practices to be identified, as well as identifying those existing, and also novel, practices which have the potential to be developed in order to reduce carcass contamination by Salmonella.