Specialty Pork: The Success Story in Japan

Specialty Pork from North Carolina gains popularity in Japan thanks to breeding and diet.

00:00:01 Specialty pork from North Carolina gains popularity in Japan thanks to breeding and diet. 40 years of data analysis and genetic experimentation led to a unique crossbreed that stands out in the market.

🐖 Unique breeding and specialized diet have made these specialty pork carcasses popular in Japan.

📈 The use of software and data analysis in the 1970s allowed for precise measurement of economic traits and experimentation with genetics and feed composition.

🥩 The resulting four-way cross hog gained weight well, stood out from other hogs, and had desirable intramuscular fat content.

00:01:05 Japanese wholesaler imports specialty pork with unique marbling and high fat content from US hog houses, leading to a successful partnership and annual shipment of 12,000 metric tons of pork to Japan.

🐖 Japanese wholesaler Sumitomo imports specialty pork from the US with higher fat content and marbling.

🇯🇵 The partnership between Sumitomo and the US hog supplier has resulted in over 12,000 metric tons of pork being shipped to Japan annually.

🦃 The US hog supplier also collaborated with the Maxwell family, the nation's largest turkey processor.

00:02:10 Japanese consumers prefer high-quality pork over domestic options, making Sumitomo-branded silky pork from the Ivy's a sought-after dining experience. The Ivy's focus on quality is evident in their own feed lab and careful monitoring of inputs.

🐖 The Ivy's hog operation in North Carolina grew to over 70,000 breeding sows.

🇯🇵 Sumitomo branded the Ivy's pork as silky pork in Japan.

🍽️ Japanese consumers value high-quality and traceable food.

00:03:14 Japanese consumers' demand for safe and traceable silky pork is increasing due to the westernization of their diet.

🐷 Silky pork processed in a plant in Illinois is inspected for quality and safety by Sumitomo.

🔍 Japanese consumers value safe products and traceability.

🍖 Red meat consumption, including pork, has increased in Japan due to the westernization of the Japanese diet.

00:04:17 Specialty Pork Finds Japanese Audience through precise cuts and high quality. American consumers are now adapting to the Japanese model of knowing the story behind their food production.

🐷 In the United States, the demand for specialty pork is growing as more people want to know the story behind their food production.

🔪 Rantoul Foods, the main supplier of the specialty pork, prioritizes accuracy and quality over volume, resulting in a slower but more precise production process.

📦 Each package of pork goes through individual sealing, cooling, and inspection to ensure it meets the specifications set by Sumitomo.