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Processing Seminars Promote U.S. Pork in Competitive Korean Market

Published: Mar 09, 2016

Dr. Andrew Milkowski, adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin, inspects a processed pork item at a USMEF seminar in Korea

USMEF-Korea recently conducted individual pork processing seminars for three leading manufacturing companies, providing updated information on U.S. pork used for further processing and to follow up with companies that participated in the USMEF Global Processing Seminar held in Wisconsin last August. The seminars at S-Food, CJ Cheiljedang and Dong Won were funded by the USDA Market Access Program (MAP) and the Pork Checkoff.

Jihae Yang, USMEF-Korea director, noted that competition in the processing sector has intensified since Russia placed a ban on pork from the European Union, resulting in a wider range of EU pork cuts flowing into Korea. Keeping Korean processors informed about technical issues, product availability and market conditions is one way to keep them focused on U.S. pork, Yang said.

Helping provide that information was by Dr. Andrew Milkowski, adjunct professor of meat science at the University of Wisconsin. USMEF invited Dr. Milkowski to Korea to discuss new meat processing technologies used in the U.S., problem-solving steps used in manufacturing and advice on how to contain production costs. He also addressed current U.S. processed pork market trends and provided an overview of basic meat science.

According to Yang, attendees showed particular interest in choosing proper raw material for processed pork, thawing methods for frozen pork and troubleshooting in manufacturing.