日本和牛

Wagyu ("Japanese cow") designates any of the four Japanese breeds of beef cattle.The Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Shorthorn, and the Japanese Polled are the four breeds of Japanese Wagyu. As they are based on Japan’s original cattle breeds, these livestock breeds have undergone multiple modifications and crossbreeds between these four breeds are also treated as Wagyu cattle. You can also find "wagyu" issued from other countries. As long as they are fattened in Japan for more than 3 months, foreign and imported cattle breeds can also be called Wagyu.

The breeders, with their special techniques and thorough care, bring forth high-quality Japanese Wagyu. They have the cattle placed in well-ventilated cattle barns carpeted with sawdust. The cattle are fed with highly nutritive and safe cattle food mixed with hay, and the breeders care for them as one of their own children. By monitoring their health conditions and paying attention to details, the cattle is carefully cultivated. This is why Japanese Wagyu has tender, delicate and mellow taste.

The characteristics of Japanese Wagyu are that it is soft and succulent, and it has a delicate and mellow taste. The fat of the beef is the key factor attributing it’s taste, and the combination of beautiful marbled pattern and lean meat allow people to taste the delicious fat of Japanese Wagyu as it melts in their mouths. This is referred as the “Marbling” of the meat. Before Japanese Wagyu hits the shelves, the beef is put through inspection and categorized based on their color, tenderness and “marbling.” A5-graded Japanese Wagyu have the best quality. Japanese Wagyu can be identified with the “Beef Japan” tag. The tag indicates that the beef is authentic Japanese Wagyu, and can be used as an indicator when you are looking for delicious and high-quality Japanese Wagyu. The high protein and lower amounts of fat found in Japanese Wagyu lean meat have also become very popular recently among people emphasizing eating healthy.

With the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, during the early 2000s and the foot-and-mouth disease during 2010, Japan has began to conduct thorough BSE inspections and removal of Specified Risk Materials (SRM). The degree of strictness in the inspections is second to none. In addition, each Japanese cattle is registered individually into the inventory at birth and are assigned individual identification codes. The tracking system that monitors the cattle through these codes is very complete and established. Japanese Wagyu that is sold in stores has an identification code on the packaging. Therefore, consumers can conveniently use the internet to check the breed, date of birth, and other pieces of information about the cattle breeder that produced this package of meat.