Seminar Introduces Underutilized Pork, Beef Cuts to Korean Foodservice Industry

More than 200 Korean importers, foodservice professionals and retailers attended the USMEF seminar on underutilized cuts of U.S pork and beef

To introduce a range of underutilized U.S. pork and beef cuts to the Korean market, USMEF recently conducted a seminar at the Grand Intercontinental Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, attended by more than 200 importers, foodservice professionals and retailers. Funding support was provided by the USDA Market Access Program (MAP), the Beef Checkoff Program and the Pork Checkoff.

“USMEF is continuously introducing new cuts into the Korean foodservice sector, along with new merchandising ideas, so that we can satisfy our customers’ needs in terms of quality and price,” said Junil Park, senior marketing manager for USMEF-Korea.

Nobuhide Kemi, a Japanese merchandising specialist invited to the seminar by USMEF, presented the Korean audience with various Japanese-style merchandising ideas. He also conducted a cutting demonstration that included U.S. beef chuck riblet, brisket oyster, petite tender, loin wing, center of heel, top sirloin butt cap, eye of round, tri tip, clod heart, rip cap plate and center cut back rib. Featured U.S. pork cuts included back rib, sirloin end, loin and collar butt.

Banners demonstrated various cuts of U.S. beef and pork being introduced to the Korean audience

Dishes featuring these cuts were prepared by Grand Intercontinental Hotel chefs and served to attendees, who then shared their observations and discussed ideas for menu planning and merchandising.

USMEF also used the seminar to introduce and encourage use of its Korean barbecue app, launched last year. The app provides easy-to-access information about U.S. pork and beef through mobile devices. It is continuously updated as new products are introduced and featured in Korea.

A survey conducted after the seminar gauged interest in the introduced cuts. The most favored beef cuts were top sirloin butt cap, petite tender, tri tip and rip cap plate. On the pork side, back rib was the most popular, closely followed by collar butt.

Park noted that USMEF plans to conduct several small-scale seminars to introduce alternative cuts over the next year, targeting the national foodservice industry with additional information on pricing and supply options.