A unique breed with a unique product

The theme from day one was “Wagyu’s international development continues”. South African ex-Minister Roelf Meyer, who is renowned for his contribution to the negotiations that led to the first democratic elec-tions in South Africa in 1994, set the scene with a talk on collaboration. Mr Pete Eshelman, chairman of the American Wagyu Association who used to be an Olympian athlete, gave his support for an “international” body, such as the International Olym-pic Association being formed. This sentiment was also supported by all the other delegates. Prof Dale Woerner from Texas Tech University reiter-ated that the Wagyu is a unique breed with a unique product. The X factor is the type of fat, and fat com-position. The taste can be described as “buttery and dairy sweet”. With Wagyu, the positive eating experi-ence because of the marbling contributes up to 98-99% of the eating experience. For most other breed’s, the contribution varies between 30% to 66%. The high level of Oleic acid (monounsaturated fat) compared to palmitic acid (Saturated fat) also makes a significant difference.