Ten Celebrity Chefs Endorse U.S. Beef

Who better than a famous national chef to demonstrate U.S. beef products or promote the safety of U.S. beef? USMEF-Taiwan has assembled a team of 10 popular celebrity chefs as ambassadors for U.S. beef to demonstrate their passion for American beef and help consumers better understand the art of healthy and tasty culinary skills.

Since Taiwan’s crackdown on the use of beta-agonists in livestock production has produced a backlash for U.S. meat exports to Taiwan, USMEF-Taiwan’s has implemented strategies that include retailer and restaurant promotions that transform in-store tasting into intensive, knowledge-based media exposures of U.S. beef’s dominant position in Taiwan’s import market. The program is supported through funding from the Beef Checkoff and the USDA Market Access Program (MAP).

As incomes in Taiwan rise, so does the consumer demand for quality. The quality of U.S. beef is endorsed by the celebrity chefs while USMEF-Taiwan provides consumer education on the U.S. industry’s rigorous food-safety measures from farm to plate.

“Celebrity demonstrations are an effective and cost-efficient marketing tool, often more powerful than advertising in the mainstream media, but this program combines them for maximum effect,” said Davis Wu, USMEF Taiwan director. “The safety of high-quality U.S. beef is a competitive advantage for the U.S. meat industry.”

According to Taiwanese statistics, U.S. beef imports to Taiwan in the first nine months of 2011 totaled 21,407 metric tons (47.2 million pounds) valued at $136 million, a 29 percent share of Taiwan’s beef import market.