Beef like Your Mother Never Used to Make

Beef like Your Mother Never Used to Make

A new retail range of premium aged beef cuts from New Zealand’s red meat experts will be available for consumers from March.

Silver Fern Farms is behind the range of aged beef. It is the first red meat range in New Zealand with a science-backed Eating Quality System® which guarantees consumers that the product meets the highest standards of taste, tenderness and juiciness, for an exceptional eating experience every time.

Silver Fern Farms General Manager Marketing Sharon Angus says the new range is selected using the Silver Fern Farms Eating Quality System® and accredited Master Graders to guarantee consistently high quality beef, something she says consumers have been ‘clamouring’ for.

“Our new, aged beef range proudly carries our Master Grader’s promise of taste, tenderness and juiciness, so that finding tender beef will never be tough again. All consumers have to do is look for the Master Grader’s mark on the pack to know they will get quality consistently,” says Sharon Angus.

To create the range consumer taste tests were carried out in New Zealand and the United States on over 97,000 samples of beef by 13,900 consumers to determine the factors affecting eating quality. The research was carried out by a team of 38 scientists from Texas Tech University in the US and Otago University. The grading system has been developed using a scientific process to determine taste preferences and then matching these with animal data to guarantee consumers premium quality red meat. This work has been made possible as part of Government’s Primary Growth Partnership and FarmIQ.

“At Silver Fern Farms, we are on a mission to build people’s appreciation of red meat. From our research we know people are not content with variable quality, overcooked roasts or tough steaks – like many people grew up with.

“With beef we felt there was an opportunity to bring authenticity back to the red meat cabinet by offering premium cuts that are aged with care to really exemplify the skill and craft of butchery.

“We knew we had to deliver something special to meet premium beef buyers’ expectations - a new guarantee of quality and level of consistency not seen before. Beef is such a frequent, mainstream purchase, often producing some pretty average meal experiences that we needed to remind beef lovers of just how extraordinary a great cut of beef can be. Then we had to make sure we could deliver that same high standard time and time again.”

Aged for 21 days, the best cuts of beef have been selected with beef lovers in mind.

The cuts are naturally lean – selected from the best-tasting, leanest parts of the animal and then precisely trimmed to ensure no waste.

“There is something for every beef aficionado – impress with the king of beef cuts – Tenderloin Eye Fillet; satisfy true beef fans with our hearty Porterhouse steaks, inspired by the classic American cut; make it quick and simple with our signature cut – Beef Medallions; or savour our hearty and modern Beef Prime-Cut Roast.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors –

About the New Aged Beef Range-
New Zealand’s red meat experts, Silver Fern Farms, are introducing a range of premium, restaurant-quality, aged Beef cuts for Beef lovers:

• Beef Tenderloin Eye Fillet 300g
• Beef Porterhouse Steaks 350g
• Beef Prime-Cut Roast 350g
• Beef Medallions 350g
• Beef Stir-fry 350g
- The range is launching 3 March 2014 in selected supermarkets nationwide (Countdown, New World, and Pak n Save) and will retail between $12.95 and $21.95.

- Aged at Least 21 days – Silver Fern Farms’ beef cuts are aged in ideal conditions for at least 21 days before they reach consumers to naturally develop in flavour and enhance tenderness.

- Grass-fed New Zealand Beef – Silver Fern Farms Beef is proudly raised free-range on the lush pastures of the world’s best farming environment – New Zealand.

- Naturally Lean – Silver Fern Farms’ new aged beef cuts are naturally lean, boneless, trimmed of all unnecessary fat and carry the Heart Foundation Tick* (Excluding Porterhouse).

- Vacuum-packed for Freshness and Convenience – Each cut is vacuum-packed to seal in juiciness and flavour and to allow the beef to age and tenderise in the fridge for up to 30 days.

- Perfect portions, simple to prepare, easy to cook - with delicious recipes on the back of pack by Annabel Langbein, and helpful tips here and online at silverfernfarms.com, Silver Fern Farms make it easy to get it right in the kitchen, or on the barbeque every time.

About the Silver Fern Farms Eating Quality System ®

- Silver Fern Farms Eating Quality System ® guarantees the eating quality of beef. The grading system has been developed using a scientific process to determine taste preferences and then matching these with animal data to guarantee consumers premium quality red meat.

- A science-backed approach – Consumer taste tests were carried out in New Zealand and the United States on over 97,000 samples of beef by 13,900 consumers to determine the factors affecting eating quality. The research was carried out by a team of 38 scientists from Texas Tech University in the US and Otago University. The data collected has been used to create a powerful mathematical formula which compares taste preferences from consumers with data from beef animals.

- Silver Fern Farms Eating Quality System rates a beef carcase on 7 scientific criteria statistically proven to contribute to the eating quality of prime cuts: Ultimate pH; Marbling; Ossification; Rib Fat; Meat Colour, Fat Colour and Eye Muscle measurement.

- The EQ Master Grade – When information on individual carcase attributes is collected by a Silver Fern Farms’ EQ Master Grader, the data is analysed against taste preferences and animal data to give each carcase and Eating Quality (EQ) Master Grade.

- Accredited Master Graders – To qualify as an EQ Accredited Master Grader our prospective graders must undergo rigorous theoretical and practical training and be re-assessed every 8 weeks to ensure they are calibrated.

- A major investment – taking place over a period of 2 years, the scale and depth of the taste testing process carried out under the EQ programme makes this the largest science investigation into red meat eating quality in New Zealand.

- Enabling our Plate-to-Pasture Strategy – The Eating Quality System translates consumer preferences back to farmers so they can produce the right specification of animal to meet these expectations.

About Silver Fern Farms:
- Silver Fern Farms is a leading New Zealand processor and marketer of lamb, mutton, beef, venison and associated products to more than 60 countries.
- The company’s vision: Inspirational Food Created by Passionate People.
- Silver Fern Farms is a farmer-controlled co-operative representing more than 16,000 farmer shareholders.
- The company operates 22 processing facilities throughout the country, employing more than 7,000 staff in the peak of season.
- Key markets in North America, the United Kingdom and Europe, Asia and the Middle East are supported through a network of 8 international offices.

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