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USMEF Provides Retail Training, Promotes U.S. Pork at Food Carnival Road Show in China

Published: Jun 11, 2015

Attendees at the American Food Carnival Road Show in Chengdu were provided samples of U.S. pork and shown ways to showcase the meat for customers.

USMEF recently promoted U.S. pork in China by conducting pork cutting trainings for a pair of major food retailers and taking part in an American Food Carnival Road Show organized by the Agricultural Trade Office in Chengdu. These activities were supported through the Pork Checkoff and the USDA Market Access Program (MAP).

Large retailers, meat importers and e-commerce marketers attended the Road Show, which was designed to introduce potential customers to U.S.-produced food products. For USMEF, the primary goal was to –introduce U.S. pork to more importers, distributors and hotel and restaurant clients in southwestern China, especially in the Chengdu and Chongqing regions.

USMEF provided U.S. pork cutting trainings for two major retailers in China. The trainings included information on refrigerated storage and the proper defrosting of U.S. pork.

USMEF staff prepared booklets packed with information about U.S. pork and presented a display to showcase the many ways food companies and retailers can successfully sell pork. Sample dishes of U.S. pork butt and U.S. pork belly were offered in order to provide a taste of U.S. pork.

The goals of the pork cutting trainings were to provide a better understanding of U.S. pork production, foster confidence in U.S. pork quality and safety and educate retailers on how to portion and add value to U.S. pork.

Jiangmen Henglong Food Company, a new U.S. pork retailer in the Jiangmen area, and Vanguard Supermarket, the largest supermarket chain in China, were introduced to the methods of using refrigerated storage to extend the shelf life of defrosted U.S. pork. The companies were also shown correct defrosting methods and informed of the benefits of defrosting U.S. pork at low temperatures.

U.S. pork tastings were also part of the training, as was instruction on how to successfully merchandise U.S. pork to Chinese consumers.