Heat-treated ostrich meat on shelves in SA

Heat-treated products such as steaks, ostrich fillets, strips and goulash chunks are the brainchild of Oudtshoorn-based Klein Karoo International (KKI) - the biggest supplier of ostrich products in the world. Since May last year, KKI has been flash grilling the meat in a compact cooking "oven" imported from Sweden.

The product is gaining in popularity in Europe, having jumped from the export of 350 tons last year to 1,000 tons this year so far. The "convenience" factor of slightly pre-cooked meat is already attracting buyers at Woolworths shops in South Africa.

"We source the vast majority of our food locally. This product is another example of the quality and innovation that is on offer from out local food producers," Woolworths said on Wednesday (17 July).

The devastating outbreak of the highly pathogenic strain of bird-flu in 2011 resulted in the EU placing an export ban on raw South African ostrich meat, forcing producers to seek new ways to remain competitive in those markets.

Exports plummet

Before the ban, the Klein Karoo region was producing about 170,000 slaughtered birds a year, which made up about 70% of ostrich meat consumption worldwide, most of it for the EU.

"There has been a lot of trial and error, but our method is working and we are getting a positive response from Europe," said KKI's managing director Johan Stumpf.

"Obviously, ostrich exports are not at the same levels as they were prior to 2011, but we are doing well considering that this was essentially a new market for us and there is still a lot of suspicion around any new product," Stumpf said.

The heat processing is done at the company's abattoir in Oudtshoorn, which now has two machines to treat the meat.

"I think what we are finding there is that there is a convenience element to the heat-treated meat that it has essentially already been cooked and there is less chance of something going 'wrong'."

He said KKI had been "quite secretive" during the experimentation process so that it might have a competitive edge, but it could be expected that other producers would now follow suit.

This year, a new strain of avian flu spread to five farms in the Oudtshoorn area, although the H7N7 virus has been found to be a low-pathogenic virus.

"The virus has been spread by wild birds in the area, but the threat is not great," said Pieter Koen, deputy director for animal health in the Western Cape.

Source: Business Day via I-Net Bridge