Building trust and expanding education is easier when seeing a process firsth...

Building trust and expanding education is easier when seeing a process firsthand and having the direct opportunity to ask questions and get answers. This is exactly what more than 100 meat importers, buyers, retailers and food service representatives from 20 countries had the opportunity to do in U.S. industry tours at the end of May.

Teams from around the globe visited the United States and met with U.S. producers, processors and sellers in efforts by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) to increase exports of U.S. beef and pork.

“The United Kingdom beef team gained an excellent overview of the U.S. beef industry and had opportunity to meet and do business with a number of U.S. suppliers approved to export to the European Union,” said Jackie Hruby, USMEF Europe, Russia and Middle East director. “Many team members said that seeing operations and talking one-on-one with the U.S. suppliers led to business that otherwise would have been left untapped.”

The industry tour was a chance to show international customers how the U.S. meat industry insures U.S. products are of high quality and safe.

“We visited several U.S. plants, allowing our team to see for themselves the process from harvest all the way through to the packaging of meat cuts,” said Gilberto Lozano, USMEF Mexico director. “Being required to wear special clothing in the processing plants for safety and cleanliness impressed team members.”

Teams from South Korea and Japan, not yet open to U.S. beef, were especially interested in visiting U.S. packing facilities to see firsthand how the industry will comply with export verification programs for their countries.

“The packers showed and explained the products strictly managed and processed on the basis of the agreement with Korea,” said Jihae Yang, USMEF Korea director. “It helped the team to see these items so they could gain a better understanding of the U.S. beef cuts that would be available and how they could be used in their businesses.”

The Japanese beef team, consisting of hotel and retail buyers, visited U.S. feedlots and plants to observe cattle identification system and processing of products for the Japanese market. The Japanese foodservice companies operate restaurant chains that feature beef as a main menu item and are expected to use U.S. beef after resumption of trade with the United States.

Visits to U.S. pork facilities helped the Japan pork team, made up of buyers and executive chefs understand the U.S. pork industry’s stringent production and processing methods that produce high quality pork products that are sought after by Japanese consumers.

“For most of the members, it was their first visit to U.S. pork plants to observe the harvesting and fabrication systems as well as the safety and quality control,” said USMEF Marketing Specialist Satoshi Kato, who led the Japanese pork team. “Many were especially interested in the packers’ special programs to see new products that could find success in Japan.”

All of the industry teams came together Thursday, May 25, in Las Vegas, Nev., for the USMEF International Buyers Conference and Product Showcase where they saw different cuts of U.S. beef and pork prepared by two professional chefs and then met one-on-one with U.S. meat suppliers.

“The cooking demonstration and the product showcase were great opportunities for international buyers to get answers to questions and really learn how to use U.S. beef and pork cuts in our home countries,” said Chris Albury, a member of the Caribbean buyer team attending the conference.

The showcase gave U.S. meat suppliers a chance to meet with international buyers they would otherwise not have a chance to do business with.

“After a four-year absence, we were glad to see the product showcase return to the USMEF meeting since it is such a success,” said Eddie Troutman, international beef business manager at Cargill Meat Solutions. “As export markets reopen to beef and grow for pork, the showcase provides an opportunity for us to display products and inform foreign buyers of the safety of U.S. meat.”

Some teams also visited U.S. retailers to see how meat items are cut, packaged and displayed in the United States. Most teams enjoyed meals at restaurants featuring U.S. beef and pork to see how these items are prepared for American consumers. They also had the opportunity to visit with U.S. chefs and see restaurant kitchens and cold storage facilities.

The U.S. Meat Export Federation is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, lamb, corn, sorghum and soybean checkoff programs.

– USMEF –

The following photos are available with this release:

Photo 1 – A retail team from Mexico visits a U.S. feedlot and ranch to see firsthand the feed practices and animal identification processes used.

Photo 2 – A member of the Japanese retail team talks with a U.S. meat supplier. Many team members said it was helpful to see U.S. beef items to get an idea what cuts would be available when trade resumes.

Photo 3 – Los Cabos Westin Resort Executive Chef Jose Alonso prepares his Axiote Pork Sandwich during the cooking demonstration at the USMEF Buyers Conference so trade team members from all over the world could see how U.S. pork fits in many different ethnic dishes.