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U.S. Beef, Pork Promoted at Key European Food Exhibition

Published: Jun 19, 2019

Maintaining U.S. beef’s presence in one of its largest European markets and building momentum for U.S. pork were USMEF’s top priorities at TUTTOFOOD, a biennial food and beverage trade fair in Italy targeting hotel, restaurant and institutional (HRI) clients and retailers interested in new food ideas and products. Funded by the USDA Market Access Program (MAP), the Beef Checkoff Program and the National Pork Board, the activity in Milan included supporting a U.S. beef dinner and sharing information about the availability of U.S. pork in the EU market.

USMEF is a subcontractor of the Beef Checkoff and a contractor of the National Pork Board.

Monty Brown, USMEF representative in the European Union, answers questions from visitors to the TUTTOFOOD show in Milan, Italy

“TUTTOFOOD is a very important food exhibition in Italy and very well attended by our target accounts, not only from Italy but from all over the EU and beyond,” said Yuri Barutkin, USMEF representative in Europe. “Italy is one of the larger markets for U.S. beef in Europe and Italian importing companies are very important for the U.S. beef business. TUTTOFOOD attracts a wide audience from across Europe and we were able to reach many food industry professionals and share with them the latest information on U.S. beef. There was also a lot of interest in U.S. pork at this year’s show, as concerns about African swine fever (ASF) in other parts of the world take hold.”

Barutkin was joined by Monty Brown, also a USMEF representative in the region. The two manned the USMEF display booth, which was located near several EU food importers who are active in the Italian market. Barutkin and Brown directed product inquiries to suppliers throughout the show.

Various cuts of U.S. beef were on display for visitors to the TUTTOFOOD show in Milan, Italys

“There was a good mix of customers and potential customers coming by our booth and we had several good quality inquiries about both U.S. beef and pork,” said Brown. “Most of those inquiries were from EU-based companies, but a surprising number were from outside of Europe.”

The U.S. beef dinner, held at STK restaurant in Milan, was attended by about 100 buyers and distributors and featured U.S. beef ribeye and U.S.-produced wagyu beef.

Yuri Barutkin, USMEF representative in the European Union, discusses U.S. beef with potential customers