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Tokyo Seminar Showcases U.S. Frozen Pork

Published: Nov 30, 2008

Tokyo Seminar Showcases U.S. Frozen Pork

As part of USMEF’s ongoing effort to demonstrate the versatility and quality of U.S. pork among trade buyers, an American Frozen Pork Trade Seminar & Tasting Session was conducted Nov. 14 at the Prince Park Tower Tokyo Hotel.  This was the first time the benefits of frozen U.S. pork - which is normally a commodity item – were featured in a demonstration to Japan’s trade and industry.  Over 200 people attended from the Japanese meat industry, including food service representatives, food manufacturers, retailers and distributors.

U.S. pork is the No. 1 imported pork in Japan, but Denmark occupies the top spot in the imported frozen market. One of USMEF’s goals is expansion of the United States’ share of Japan’s imported frozen market, so the seminar focused on merchandising of U.S. frozen pork products.  USMEF members   Farmland Foods, Hastings Foods and SIG International provided pork products for the tasting sessions at the event while funding was provided by the Pork Checkoff and the USDA Market Access Program. 

The first of two lectures was provided by Mr. Kusumoto, merchandising director of Nick Foods - a company that focuses on menu development at foodservice. He explained the merchandising of value-added product using U.S. frozen pork.  He introduced several brand-new ideas, such as menus using frozen tongue trimming and ground seasoning pork for hamburger and Chinese food products.  He also proposed various menus using U.S. frozen pork, including aged ham made from loins for salads and sandwiches, aged bacon for potato salad, grilled bacon and soup, pork tongue trimming for stewed pork and seasoned pork for hamburger steaks.

In the second lecture, Mr. Takemichi Yamashoji of USMEF-Japan explained the latest trends and changes in the U.S. and global pork market, including the balance of demand and supply in the grain and feed markets.  This is a topic of great interest to Japanese traders.

At the tasting session following the lectures, USMEF served U.S. frozen pork menu items that Mr. Kusumoto presented earlier in the day.  Most attendees gave the seminar a very positive evaluation, commenting favorably on the new ideas for utilizing frozen pork products and creating value-added items through aging.

Seng Discusses Latest Korea Developments on AgriTalk

USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng was the featured guest on the Nov. 26 edition of AgriTalk, where he discussed the latest news on beef exports to South Korea with program hosts John Herath and Mike Perrine. The previous day, major Korean retailers E-Mart, Home Plus and Lotte Mart had announced their decision to resume sales of U.S. beef, and Seng pointed out the importance of this development in terms of growing the market for U.S. beef in Korea. He also discussed the latest economic conditions in major export markets.

AgriTalk is a live, nationwide radio program that focuses on the top agricultural issues of the day. It is carried daily on more than 70 farm radio stations in 16 states, and can also be heard live each morning at www.agritalk.com.

Listen to the Seng Interview here (interview is the final 10 minutes of the Nov. 26 podcast):

http://www.agritalk.com/podcast/index_all.php

Caspers Interview Featured on Southeast AgNet

Southeast AgNet – a farm radio network covering Alabama, Florida and Georgia, featured an interview this week with USMEF Chairman Jon Caspers. The interview was one of many conducted by Caspers and USMEF Vice Chairman Keith Miller at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City on Nov. 13.

Listen to the Caspers interview here:

http://southeastagnet.com/category/livestock/

Tokyo Seminar Showcases U.S. Frozen Pork

As part of USMEF’s ongoing effort to demonstrate the versatility and quality of U.S. pork among trade buyers, an American Frozen Pork Trade Seminar & Tasting Session was conducted Nov. 14 at the Prince Park Tower Tokyo Hotel.  This was the first time the benefits of frozen U.S. pork - which is normally a commodity item – were featured in a demonstration to Japan’s trade and industry.  Over 200 people attended from the Japanese meat industry, including food service representatives, food manufacturers, retailers and distributors.

U.S. pork is the No. 1 imported pork in Japan, but Denmark occupies the top spot in the imported frozen market. One of USMEF’s goals is expansion of the United States’ share of Japan’s imported frozen market, so the seminar focused on merchandising of U.S. frozen pork products.  USMEF members   Farmland Foods, Hastings Foods and SIG International provided pork products for the tasting sessions at the event while funding was provided by the Pork Checkoff and the USDA Market Access Program. 

The first of two lectures was provided by Mr. Kusumoto, merchandising director of Nick Foods - a company that focuses on menu development at foodservice. He explained the merchandising of value-added product using U.S. frozen pork.  He introduced several brand-new ideas, such as menus using frozen tongue trimming and ground seasoning pork for hamburger and Chinese food products.  He also proposed various menus using U.S. frozen pork, including aged ham made from loins for salads and sandwiches, aged bacon for potato salad, grilled bacon and soup, pork tongue trimming for stewed pork and seasoned pork for hamburger steaks.

In the second lecture, Mr. Takemichi Yamashoji of USMEF-Japan explained the latest trends and changes in the U.S. and global pork market, including the balance of demand and supply in the grain and feed markets.  This is a topic of great interest to Japanese traders.

At the tasting session following the lectures, USMEF served U.S. frozen pork menu items that Mr. Kusumoto presented earlier in the day.  Most attendees gave the seminar a very positive evaluation, commenting favorably on the new ideas for utilizing frozen pork products and creating value-added items through aging.

Seng Discusses Latest Korea Developments on AgriTalk

USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng was the featured guest on the Nov. 26 edition of AgriTalk, where he discussed the latest news on beef exports to South Korea with program hosts John Herath and Mike Perrine. The previous day, major Korean retailers E-Mart, Home Plus and Lotte Mart had announced their decision to resume sales of U.S. beef, and Seng pointed out the importance of this development in terms of growing the market for U.S. beef in Korea. He also discussed the latest economic conditions in major export markets.

AgriTalk is a live, nationwide radio program that focuses on the top agricultural issues of the day. It is carried daily on more than 70 farm radio stations in 16 states, and can also be heard live each morning at www.agritalk.com.

Listen to the Seng Interview here (interview is the final 10 minutes of the Nov. 26 podcast):

http://www.agritalk.com/podcast/index_all.php

Caspers Interview Featured on Southeast AgNet

Southeast AgNet – a farm radio network covering Alabama, Florida and Georgia, featured an interview this week with USMEF Chairman Jon Caspers. The interview was one of many conducted by Caspers and USMEF Vice Chairman Keith Miller at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City on Nov. 13.

Listen to the Caspers interview here:

http://southeastagnet.com/category/livestock/