The Middle East’s love affair with Wagyu beef is in for a wake-up call, after the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and the Japan Wagyu Beef Export Promotion Committee (JWBEPC) served a warning that the only authentic Wagyu comes from Japan.
Seven of the country’s Wagyu beef producers and the Japan Livestock Industry Association (JLIA) are in the midst of a major campaign to fend off ‘imitators’ at this week’s Gulfood trade show, which runs at Dubai World Trade Centre until February 25.
The Japanese producers claim only their genuine Wagyu beef – which comes from a group of Japanese breeds revered for an incredibly high level of fat marbling – has the ultimate texture, flavour and aroma, and have urged importers and hospitality professionals to look for the JWBEPC trade mark to ensure their beef really is wagyu.
“Unlike all other beef, Japan’s Wagyu is unique for its fine texture. The highest grade marbling within the muscle fibre – whose melting point is as low as human body temperature – means that Wagyu immediately melts in the mouth, releasing a rich and sweet ‘Wagyu aroma’ that is suggestive of coconut and peach. More than half of genuine Wagyu’s finely distributed marbling consists of healthy unsaturated fatty acid, just as in olive,” said Junji Nakao, Director of Food and Agriculture, JETRO
With Japanese beef exports to the UAE expected to reach 8.9tonnes last year – up from 2.7tonnes – in 2014, the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) is confident the local market will opt for only the highest quality Wagyu beef from Japan, some of which is also halal-certified.
“Unfortunately, not all the beef named Wagyu is from Japan. However, Japanese beef exports to the UAE continue to grow year-on-year – a clear indication that local consumers and hospitality outlets prefer the real thing,” said Masami Ando, Managing Director, Dubai & MENA, JETRO.
JETRO is spearheading a major promotion of Japanese produce at Gulfood – the world’s largest annual food and hospitality trade show and the entity’s leading global food trading platform. Twenty seven Japanese companies are housed in a pavilion more than double the size of last year’s participation.
Japan is one of 117 national and industry pavilions at Gulfood 2016 – the 21st in the now annual series – which features more than 5,000 international companies from 120 countries and is expected to attract more than 85,000 trade visitors.