Unfortunately, at least here in the European Union, the words "Kobe" (a city in Japan), "Wagyu" (simply "Japanese cattle"), and "Kurobuta" (simply "black hog") are not protected terms. Parma ham is a protected term: if you purchase Parma ham, you will receive (by law) ham processed in Parma. Yorkshire pudding is not a protected term: everyone seems to make a Yorkshire pudding in a different way.

It can get really weird. "Scotch" is a protected term. If you purchase "Scotch" beef, you must receive (by law) beef from an animal that was born, raised, and slaughtered in Scotland. But the term "Scottish" is not protected. Anybody know the difference between "Scotch" and "Scottish?"

The definitive book on the subject of beef in Japan is over 20 years old: "Beef in Japan" by Prof. John W. Longworth. He's retired now, but I located him in Australia and he kindly gave me permission to re-publish the Kobe beef chapters from his book on our website http://www.kobe-beef.org You will see that there are really four types of Wagyu cattle: the most prevalent has been cross-bred with all sorts of Western breeds.

Now it gets really confusing. We raise pedigree Aberdeen Angus cattle in the Kobe style. (In the U.K., you can call beef Aberdeen Angus if its sire is Aberdeen Angus. So most so-called Aberdeen Angus is really a 50% cross. Not ours.) We feed our cattle on a special grain diet, give them a pint of beer each per day, and massage them three times a week.

Most Wagyu cattle, on the other hand, is simply fed the grain diet --- the massage and beer are part of lore, and not reality.

When we started, we spoke with governmental officials (the Food Standards Agency and our local Trading Standards Office) and they have no objection to our calling our beef Scottish | Kobe beef. Our website provides our customers with lots of information about exactly what they're buying, and how it's raised. Please see http://www.luciesfarm.co.uk

We also raise Kurobuta pork. This one is even more mysterious. The Japanese supposedly recived Berkshire pigs as a gift from the British monarch. I paid a researcher to go to the National Archives in Kew and find more details, but there's no record of an official gift of pigs --- Berkshire or otherwise.

I've read that in Japan, pure Berkshire pigs (not crossed with local breeds) are the most prized. The Japanese purchase breeding stock from the few Berkshire pig breeders here in the UK. One estimate is that there are as few as 300 Berkshire pigs left today in Britain.

The Japanese even DNA test the pork to be sure it's come from Berkshire pigs.

We raise pedigree Berkshire pigs --- and we then take it one step further. We feed our pigs beer and we take them swimming. Even the Japanese don't do this. Our Berkshire - Kurobuta pork is, I believe, superior to what can be purchased in Japan. We have more information at http://www.kurobuta.org

Of course in the final analysis what really matters is taste. I know that our Japanese expatriate customers are often cautious about ordering our beef and pork. It is very gratifying to me that they then place re-orders, and admit (sometimes a bit grudgingly) that the meat is better than what they have at home.

The U.K. has a very, very long tradition of raising beef and pork. The Japanese have only been at it for about 150 years. They're relative newcomers.

I guess my point here is that the labels/names can be misleading. I encourage consumers to get more information (if they can) about exactly what they're purchasing.

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