Japanese Food Manufacturer Shifts to Underutilized U.S. Pork Item

Sunny Side, a major regional food manufacturer and distributor in Ishikawa Prefecture, has shifted from domestic pork to U.S. pork rectum as the raw material for one of its most popular seasoned yakiniku items.  The company expects to use 30 metric tons of U.S. pork rectum annually.

The product is widely sold at shops and supermarkets in the three prefectures of the Hokuriku Region as well as Japan’s largest online shopping mall, Rakuten. Sunny Side plans to promote the product through video advertisements, digital signage and point-of sale materials. 

USMEF staff worked with Sunny Side employees during relief efforts last year at the Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula, which was slow to recover from Japan’s worst earthquake in eight years.

“We developed a relationship with Sunny Side at Noto Peninsula and began discussing the benefits of utilizing underutilized U.S. pork and beef items,” says USMEF Japan Director Satoshi Kato.