Westfleisch: From gourmet patties to animal health
In Cologne, Westfleisch - as a cooperative with 4,900 agricultural members and a crucial intermediary between agriculture and trade – provides information about, among other things, its animal welfare programs such as "More Animal Welfare - Together for the Future", "BauernLiebe" and "Strohwohl". "All programs help make animal welfare levels and different qualities visible to consumers and create additional added value for our farmers", explains Kelliger. When it comes to animal welfare, Westfleisch is considered a pioneer in Germany. Around 80 percent of the supplying farmers already keep their pigs according to the higher husbandry methods 2, 3 and 4 and thus well above the legal minimum conditions - the average across Germany is lower.
The cooperative also reports on the Westfleisch "animal health" offensive at Anuga. The aim is to provide agricultural businesses with better preventive advice, awareness and even greater support in the future. The focus is, for example, on binding guidelines for cooperation between farm veterinarians and farmers, closer communication with official veterinarians, finer data analysis based on aspects relevant to animal welfare, and stricter measures and consequences. "The offensive has been received very favorably by scientists, veterinarians, industry experts and politicians", reports Kelliger. "It is already being discussed as an industry solution".
WestfalenLand is one of the leading German manufacturers of self-service fresh meat and fresh convenience. At Anuga, the Westfleisch subsidiary is presenting its own brand for the first time, "PURE Masterbeef". The specialists at WestfalenLand refine high-quality meat products from beef - especially from heifers - in a unique dry-aged process. The steak meat specialties mature for around 360 hours in the specially developed "PUREAGING" process. Thanks to the addition of the finest Himalayan salt, a particularly high-quality product is created. "WestfalenLand’s master butchers provide the necessary specialist knowledge and accompany every step of the entire production process", says Kelliger.
WestfalenLand places another quality focus on environmentally friendly packaging. After all, everyone is talking about reducing the use of plastics in packaging. However, high-quality products in particular place immensely high demands on hygiene, product protection, handling and attractive presentation, meaning that completely eliminating the use of plastic is not yet possible.
However, with the new FlatBoard packaging, WestfalenLand is able to save around 60 percent of plastic per item. At the same time, it impresses with an improved appearance, optimized product presentation and a larger communication area. The perfectly cut piece of meat is placed on a flat product carrier made of virgin fiber cardboard and covered with a skin film.
Gustoland is the sausage and convenience specialist within the Westfleisch Group. At Anuga, Westfleisch SCE presents to trade fair visitors not only a variety of sausage specialties - from salami variations to smoked sausage - but also a wide range of gently pre-cooked meat products. "These are enjoying increasing popularity among consumers", says Markus Frehe, sales manager at Gustoland GmbH. Accordingly, slow-cooked products are now an integral part of the diverse range. These also include specialties such as spare ribs in various seasonings, pulled beef, pulled pork and pulled chicken or beef brisket.
Of course, the traditional classics are not missing either. These include pork knuckle, sauerbraten or veal slices. And in addition to the classic pork meatballs in various sizes, Gustoland is also presenting hybrid mini nuggets made from a mixture of poultry meat and vegetables at Anuga.
Finally, IceHouse is also represented at Westfleisch's Anuga stand. In Cologne, WestfalenLand's frozen food subsidiary is presenting, among other things, various gourmet patties for the still booming burger market. "Our juicy burger patties are now available in a practical pack of two in various variants such as German Simmental beef or as cheese patties with cheddar filling", says Frank Reisewitz, sales manager
at IceHouse Convenience GmbH. The homemade-style beef patties are also an absolute success. To make the patties, IceHouse only uses high-quality beef that is seasoned only with salt and pepper.
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