Beef, Pork Buyers from Across the Globe Gathered in St. Louis
Beef, Pork Buyers from Across the Globe Gathered in St. Louis
About 90 meat buyers from the Caribbean, China, Hong Kong, Mexico and the ASEAN region attended a U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) cutting and sampling demonstration of U.S. beef and pork yesterday. The session, supported in part by the Beef Checkoff and Pork Checkoff Programs, was held in conjunction with the USMEF Board of Directors Meeting and Product Showcase in St. Louis.
Kevin Smith, USMEF director of export services, opened the session with an overview of U.S. cattle production, beef carcass grading and food safety measures. He emphasized the unique manner in which cattle are raised in the United States, with the objective of achieving superior tenderness and palatability.
International buyers get an up-close view of a beef cutting demonstration with USMEF’s Kevin Smith (center)
"We produce cattle with a goal of meeting the palatability needs of consumers: trying to create a product that is juicy, tender, and flavorful," said Smith. "Utilizing genetics and nutrition and capitalizing on cattle that average 17 to 18 months of age we are able to create a highly palatable and tender product."
The buyers compared and tasted beef samples from several different categories, such as grain-fed versus grass-fed, Prime versus Select, and beef from younger versus older cattle. Samples were also compared that had been aged using different methods and for varying time periods.
"We generally find that for wet aging, 14 days is the optimum time period in terms of tenderness," Smith said. "Providing a longer aging period can result in increased tenderness, but the rate of tenderness improvement decreases significantly after 14 days and thus for many, the best return on investment results from an aging period at or around 14 days."
Homero Recio instructs buyers on the attributes of U.S. bacon
The pork demonstration was led by Homero Recio, president and chief operating officer of Agri-West International, Inc. Recio’s presentation focused on processed pork products, including an overview of how U.S. pork belly cuts are produced, processed and merchandised as bacon. Buyers compared samples that illustrated the quality and versatility of U.S. bacon, which is in very high demand in both the international and domestic markets.
A best-ever turnout of international buyers has been one of the highlights of the USMEF Board of Directors Meeting and Product Showcase, which continues through Friday.
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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry. It is funded by USDA; the beef, pork, lamb, corn and soybean checkoff programs, as well as its members representing nine industry sectors: beef/veal producing & feeding, pork producing & feeding, lamb producing & feeding, packing & processing, purveying & trading, oilseeds producing, feedgrains producing, farm organizations and supply & service organizations.
For more information, contact Jim Herlihy atjherlihy@usmef.org.
USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.
Beef, Pork Buyers from Across the Globe Gathered in St. Louis
About 90 meat buyers from the Caribbean, China, Hong Kong, Mexico and the ASEAN region attended a U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) cutting and sampling demonstration of U.S. beef and pork yesterday. The session, supported in part by the Beef Checkoff and Pork Checkoff Programs, was held in conjunction with the USMEF Board of Directors Meeting and Product Showcase in St. Louis.
Kevin Smith, USMEF director of export services, opened the session with an overview of U.S. cattle production, beef carcass grading and food safety measures. He emphasized the unique manner in which cattle are raised in the United States, with the objective of achieving superior tenderness and palatability.
International buyers get an up-close view of a beef cutting demonstration with USMEF’s Kevin Smith (center)
"We produce cattle with a goal of meeting the palatability needs of consumers: trying to create a product that is juicy, tender, and flavorful," said Smith. "Utilizing genetics and nutrition and capitalizing on cattle that average 17 to 18 months of age we are able to create a highly palatable and tender product."
The buyers compared and tasted beef samples from several different categories, such as grain-fed versus grass-fed, Prime versus Select, and beef from younger versus older cattle. Samples were also compared that had been aged using different methods and for varying time periods.
"We generally find that for wet aging, 14 days is the optimum time period in terms of tenderness," Smith said. "Providing a longer aging period can result in increased tenderness, but the rate of tenderness improvement decreases significantly after 14 days and thus for many, the best return on investment results from an aging period at or around 14 days."
Homero Recio instructs buyers on the attributes of U.S. bacon
The pork demonstration was led by Homero Recio, president and chief operating officer of Agri-West International, Inc. Recio’s presentation focused on processed pork products, including an overview of how U.S. pork belly cuts are produced, processed and merchandised as bacon. Buyers compared samples that illustrated the quality and versatility of U.S. bacon, which is in very high demand in both the international and domestic markets.
A best-ever turnout of international buyers has been one of the highlights of the USMEF Board of Directors Meeting and Product Showcase, which continues through Friday.
# # #
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry. It is funded by USDA; the beef, pork, lamb, corn and soybean checkoff programs, as well as its members representing nine industry sectors: beef/veal producing & feeding, pork producing & feeding, lamb producing & feeding, packing & processing, purveying & trading, oilseeds producing, feedgrains producing, farm organizations and supply & service organizations.
For more information, contact Jim Herlihy atjherlihy@usmef.org.
USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.