- do wagyu cows listen to music daily, and eat apples and receive massage?
- world popular wagyu cattle is bred and how is the beef graded?
- a farm has about 1500 top-grade wagyu cattle (black wagyu cattle) in Kagoshima, Japan
- 7am in the morning and 7 deg C in the streets
- sun sets at 4.30pm in Autumn
- before entering the farm, everyone has to gear up from head to toe in white caps and robes
- the robes are meant to ward off external diseases and illnesses
- workers wear uniforms that they can't take out of the farm
- the Japanese shower wagyu cattle with devoted care in rearing them
- they provide the cattle with a comfortable environment to grow 24/7 and 365 days a year
- the wagyu cattle listen to music and feel relaxed, which improves the beef texture and becomes more tender
- to breed superb wagyu beef, even the water for the cattle's consumption is monitored
- the cattle eat organic hay
- grains made from natural ingredients and protein-rich wheat and feed are fed to the cattle
- the cattle is strong and healthy
- before the shepherd tends to the cattle, he must sanitise his boots
- the cowshed must be cleaned besides feeding the cattle
- especially the areas where people linger must be sanitised at all times
- the housekeeping job there is more demanding than a hotel's
- the hay on the ground must be swept and returned to the barn
- the barn is all soil and wood shavings
- the temperature in the cowshed is regulated to keep the wagyu cattle relaxed
- the vapour jets cool the temperature in the cowshed and dampen the wood bedding
- in this way, wood bedding won't enter the cattle's nostrils and make them sick
- the soil and wood bedding that the cattle step on is also clinically processed
- germs and bacteria are eliminated before use
- the cattle carry identification cards where each of their right ear has an orange tag with a serial no.
- they use their nose prints as every cattle has a different nose print
- this makes it much easier to trace the source of a bovine plague
- such stringent process of rearing wagyu cattle in Japan
- the cattle is massaged daily
- it makes a bristling sound but the fur is really soft
- massaging boosts their blood circulation and meat quality
- the shepherd will give the cattle his blessings when they're sent to the abbatoir
- the encouragement encapsulates such sentimental sadness
- the wagyu beef processing plant also comes under tight supervision
- high sanitisation standards are upheld
- all vehicles must be registered and sanitised before they are allowed entry
- this is to ensure the beef in the plant is safe for consumption
- before entering the plant's storage room, besides putting on the white robe, cap, mask and helmet, visitors must change shoes and wash our hands
- there're posters to illustrate the proper way of washing hands
- after blowdrying the hands, the boots are sanitised 3 times before entering
- finally, visitors must remove all the dust on the bodies to prevent the beef from getting contaminated
- the beef is arranged and hung in neat rows
- an average of 150 slaughtered cattle are stored daily and kept at zero deg C
- the quality and cost of the beef consumed in restaurants are graded there
- the wagyu beef grading system was introduced in 1988
- a few examiners form a team to give every cattle a thorough appraisal
- this grading panel determines the price of the beef being consumed at restaurants
- Grade A beef is double the price of Grade B beef
- assessment is based on the colour, malleability, overall texture and fat content to ascertain the quality rating and grading
- Grade A beef means more than 72% of its content is edible
- out of 470,000 cattle, only about less than 1/3 of the beef makes the A4 or A5 grades
- this makes it a gem and an expensive one to boot
- the key determinant in grading is the 52 square centimetres of marble-like pattern located between the 7th and 8th ribs of every cattle
- pattern on Grade A5 is finer and also more even in fat distribution
- before the beef is delivered to the wholesalers it must be butchered according to body parts and grade
- clear division of labour
- every worker is responsible for butchering a specific par of the cattle
- they must be able to discern the beef quality to carry their jobs effectively
- every part of the wagyu cattle can be eaten
- the loin are beef of the highest quality
- the cattle has only 2 strips of loin and they're at most 7-8 kg (S$1050 - S$1200)
- they're the most tender parts of the cattle and costs more than S$150 per kg
- they're vacuum-packed in plastic bags to remain fresh
- the processing plant exports beef from 10-15 cattle to Singapore every year (20-30 strips of loins = 70kg-120kg of loin = S$10,500 -S$18,000)
- Singapore requires Japan to export beef which is not more than 30 months old to ensure its tenderness
- top-grade wagyu beef from the black wagyu cattle in Kagoshima
- sliced beef is for shabu shabu costs 8000 yen (S$124)
- diced beef is for teppanyaki costs 3800 yen (S$60)
- Japanese wagyu beef can be eaten raw
- avoid overcooking as it'll become very dry
- one may choose to dip the wagyu beef in soy sauce or wasabi or vinegar or without sauce
- a plate of black wagyu beef costs S$112 in Singapore
- Studies showed that Singaporeans consume more than 20 000 metric tonnes of beef a year (emission of methane from farming is more than CO2 emisson).
- the most expensive beef in the world is the Japanese wagyu beef which has made Japanese cuisine world-famous
- in luxury restaurants beef from Kagoshima could fetch as much as S$100 per 100g (if only 1% of serving is donated to charity/ needy or ppl in the developing world countries)
- in hawker centres a slab of beef cost S$6 (equivalent amount of beef in restaurants cost $74 = 12.3333 times more expensive)
- From Jan - Sep 2009 alone, Singapore imports more than 8800 kg of frozen Kagoshima beef (= wt of a large dumper truck)
- Japanese wagyu beef has such fine texture, some being graded A5, some B3, a total of 15 grades in all
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