All Kobe beef in the US is a tasty scam


 
Scam is a pretty harsh term. The articles I've read have the tone that junk beef is being sold as Kobe and I don't think that's so. I think anything being sold as Kobe or American Kobe is either real Kobe bought through the grey market or it's American Wagyu beef. Do any of the articles say that American Wagyu beef is not the same quality as Japanese Kobe beef? If it's just as good, I think they're making a big deal over nothing.

If they want to expose a scam, they should report on Omaha Steaks. That's a scam.
 
This guy - WAGYU - says that Wagyu beef is being raised in America and Australia and then shipped to Kobe. When butchered there they can then earn the "Kobe" label.

I wonder how true this is?

Unless it's got to be true because I read it on the internet.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TroyRedington:
steve, if i go to cheesecake factory and pay 24 bucks for a kobe burger - it's a F'in scam. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Are you saying that it's a scam to charge $24 for a burger or only if it's not real Japanese Kobe beef? I think $24 for a burger is a rip-off, but that's a choice a consumer can make. A Kobe burger is really just a gimmick, just like advertising Angus burgers. I'm not sure there's any special flavor profile of Kobe/Wagyu burger vs. an Angus burger. Kobe is prized for it's high quality marbling and a burger made from Wagyu scraps isn't going to provide the same texture as steak cuts. It may be very greasy though.
 
The guy in the forbes article explains why it's a scam in a pretty convincing ways. Doesn't mean that what you see being sold as Kobe like or Waygyu isn't good, but it's not Kobe beef from Japan. No Kobe has been shipped to the US for years. And what is called American or Australian Waygyu (a term that only means japanese cow) is not a breed so the term is questionable at best. I thought it was a good article and worth reading. It's linked off the msn story.
 
I don't get it. Really.
It's OK to make "Champagne", which is actually not restricted to France, but to a certain region, "Parmigiano-Reggiano" and "Kobe beef" in the US, but if the Chinese make "Weber" grills, "Gibson" guitars and so on... ?

Yesterday, I enjoyed a expensive bottle of sparkling wine, very nice. I checked it up, and the grapes and wine was made just a couple of miles outside the Champagne district. It's still not Champagne.

If this is OK for the US, as long as you do not need to have extra regulations, why should it be different for other manuafacturers? In my book, this is a very bad idea.
 
Interesting series of articles. I learned a lot. I made it to Part 3 where the writer started to editorialize more heavily. His solution to tricky names on food products - more government regulation. No thanks, we have enough of that in the U.S. already. Move to the EU if that's what you prefer, Mr. Olmsted.
 
I've seen other stories that support this.

Other cuts are substituted. Good cuts to be sure but not kobe.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Geir Widar:
It's OK to make "Champagne", which is actually not restricted to France, but to a certain region, "Parmigiano-Reggiano" and "Kobe beef" in the US, but if the Chinese make "Weber" grills, "Gibson" guitars and so on... ?

If this is OK for the US, as long as you do not need to have extra regulations, why should it be different for other manuafacturers? In my book, this is a very bad idea. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I agree. It's a classic case of the US wanting it both ways. We don't want others counterfeiting our products and brands, but we're happy to create our own versions of sparkling wine and aged cheeses and slap confusing, misleading labels on them. It's wrong.

Regards,
Chris
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chris Allingham:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Geir Widar:
It's OK to make "Champagne", which is actually not restricted to France, but to a certain region, "Parmigiano-Reggiano" and "Kobe beef" in the US, but if the Chinese make "Weber" grills, "Gibson" guitars and so on... ?

If this is OK for the US, as long as you do not need to have extra regulations, why should it be different for other manuafacturers? In my book, this is a very bad idea. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I agree. It's a classic case of the US wanting it both ways. We don't want others counterfeiting our products and brands, but we're happy to create our own versions of sparkling wine and aged cheeses and slap confusing, misleading labels on them. It's wrong.

Regards,
Chris </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
"To the victors, go the spoils." I heard that on a Sopranos CD.

"To the ignorant, go the fake Waygu." You heard it here, first.

Anyone for a dog meat taco?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JRPfeff:
"To the victors, go the spoils." I heard that on a Sopranos CD.

"To the ignorant, go the fake Waygu." You heard it here, first.

Anyone for a dog meat taco? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Sadly, you're right. There are lots of people in America who are ignorant about their food. Ignorance is defined as a lack of knowledge or education. People can take responsibility to educate themselves about their food. I try to do that, and I think many members here on TVWBB do, too. However, IMHO it's hard to defend deceptive practices and product labeling in the food industry. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I'll leave the dog meat tacos to you, my friend.
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Regards,
Chris
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Anyone for a dog meat taco? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Haven't had dog meat, but I did have horse meat sushi in Osaka, Japan years ago. A bit stronger than raw beef - it was "okay".
I have also had real Kobe beef in Japan numerous times - it is excellent.
Ray
 
A few of us were discussing this article over the weekend.

First, I never got why you would pay for a "kobe beef" burger. The point off the "kobe beef" was to have excellent marbling throughout the meat. So then you through it in the grinder ? What good does that do ?

Second, I have no problem with them creating a "brand" of beef, but if they are going to then they should be honest about their brand (Which from the articles sounds like they aren't) and create specificaitons to qualify as Wagyu or Kobe or whatever they want to name it.

Look at CAB / Certified Angus Beef. You see the word Angus or Black Angus thrown around everywhere, but if it isn't stamped or labelled with CAB or Cetified Angus Beef then it does not meet their brand's specificiations. Unfortunately going back to the education issue is that most people think they are buying that product simply because it states "Angus" which is just a breed, not a product.

I am sure the beef from Snake River Farms is excellent. So maybe they should have marketed it as SRF Beef rather than Wagyu beef. However, they wanted to cash in just like everyone else.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JSMcdowell:
First, I never got why you would pay for a "kobe beef" burger. The point off the "kobe beef" was to have excellent marbling throughout the meat. So then you through it in the grinder ? What good does that do ? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>This is a really good point. But I guess there are meat scrapes from "kobe beef" like any other, and you make ground beef out of them. My guess is that many would never buy a "kobe steak" given the price, but might splurge on a "kobe hamburger" if they saw one on the menu.

Reminds me of when I went on vacation to Maui last year. Went to the popular tourist joint Cheeseburger in Paradise. They sell a cheeseburger for $8.95, but sell a "kobe burger" for $16.95:

"For the discriminating guest we offer this truly mouth watering 100% Kobe beef burger because it's the best money can buy...the most exquisite taste you ever had."

I mean come on, you're on vacation, you're ready to splurge a bit, you've never had Kobe anything before, and you see this on the menu. If you're like a lot of people, you're going to try it. And it probably tasted pretty good. But it wasn't really Kobe beef.

Regards,
Chris
 
I found the info quite bothersome since I have fallen for the "Kobe" steak and burger scam in the past because of being trusting as I am sure most people who thought they were eating Real Kobe beef in the U.S.A. Now I just try to buy Prime when I can either to grill or dine out.
 
About the Kobe....who really cares? It is just a name game to separate you from more of your dollars.

JRPJeff, about that dog meat taco, whats next, dog meat brats? My dog triple dog dares you to try and turn him into a taco!

There was a restaurant LaChoza, closed in Chicago in the late 70's for serving the neighborhood strays to unsuspecting patrons.

Lets see, we breed Kobe dogs and.......
 
I can't see why serving dogs, or "name games" has anything to do with this.

This is about "lending" a brand, something that people have used years , decades, to build up, used money and labor to ensure a certain quality.
In my book, that is actually called something else, but I see no reason to elaborate.

It's wrong with capital letters. Just as wrong if I copied Weber grills here in Norway, and started to sell them with the Weber brand.
 
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