New Value-Added U.S. Red Meat Products Now Available at Retail in Peru

USMEF partnered with an importer/processor to develop affordable products ‒ made with U.S. beef liver and pork Boston butt ‒ that are rich in iron and protein.

Three new U.S. red meat products ‒ each made with U.S. beef liver and pork Boston butt ‒ are now available at all 58 Tottus retail stores in Peru. Pointof-sale materials were implemented to highlight the products in every outlet and product tastings were set up on weekends from late August through September at 31 stores in Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo and Arequipa.

Nutriliver burger patties, meat filling and meatballs were developed this year with South Pacific International, a Peruvian importer and processor. The goal was to create easy-to-prepare, affordable and nutritious meals with U.S. beef liver and a U.S. pork cut.

USMEF contracted with noted Peruvian chef Palmiro Ocampo to develop tasty recipes that were rich in iron and protein. The recipes were put to the test during a tasting seminar with 24 staff members from 10 local distributors and 22 culinary students at the Columbia Cooking Institute in Lima.

"Consumers enjoy the flavor of the products but some express reservations because they associate beef liver as 'poor people's food,'" says USMEF South America Representative Jessica Julca. "Our branded approach raises the image of the product and helps it to succeed based on its taste and nutritional value."

Julca adds that USMEF and South Pacific International are also working together to promote the new products at family-oriented events where they provide samples and share nutritional benefits directly with parents.

"The recipe initially used U.S. pork ham because that was the pork product we had available in the market. But when we introduced Boston butt to the importer and revised the recipe, the final product had a better taste. The price went up a little bit, but the product characteristics improved. So, now we have new value-added products in Peru using U.S. raw materials, and we also have introduced U.S. Boston butt to the market," says Julca.

Promotional support was provided by USDA's Regional Agricultural Promotion Program.