As tourism rebounds and Japan's foodservice sector strengthens, USMEF is advancing efforts to introduce new ideas for U.S. beef and pork cuts and variety meats to Japanese distributors.

USMEF conducted a first-ever workshop on American beef for 40 staff members of Starzen Kanto in Tokyo this summer. In addition to promoting cuts such as short plate, lifter meat, loin tail and tiger tail, USMEF provided cutting and cooking demonstrations of a wide range of menu items which could utilize these cuts. USMEF demonstrated usage of lifter (blade) meat for lemon steak for example, loin tail for sukiyaki, shabu-shabu and Philly cheese steak, and short plate for stew.

USMEF also conducted an American pork workshop in August for 30 Starzen staff in Osaka, which featured cutting and menu demonstrations for sirloin end, loin, Boston butt, tongue and tongue trimmings. This workshop follows the success of a seminar for Starzen Kanto staff in Tokyo in May, which resulted in increased sales of U.S. pork tongue trimmings.

"The goal of the workshops is to educate the distributor's staff on new ideas for American beef and pork that they can share with their customers," says USMEF Japan Director Satoshi Kato. "Customers in Japan often consult with their distributors for new, cost-effective menu ideas."

Funding for the workshops was provided by the Beef Checkoff Program, National Pork Board and USDA's Market Access Program.

USMEF conducted a first-ever U.S. beef workshop for Foodservice distributor Starzen Kanto in Tokyo. A workshop for U.S. pork had been conducted a few days earlier for Starzen in Osaka.