Top scores for Wagyu Carcasses Graded 17 June 2021

On Thursday 17 June 2021 we conducted training on Wagyu Carcass grading and scanning. Ms Elandri de Bruyn, MSc in Animal Production Physiology at UP, Technical Specialist from Wagyu South Africa supporting us to train a beef grader from MeatBoard, as well as members from the Namibian Wagyu Society. Ms de Bruyn has also attended world-class training in Japan, the origin of Wagyu beef. She is an expert in the field and oversee Wagyu carcass grading for South Africa, scanning roughly 50 to 100 Wagyu carcasses per month.

We are proud to announce the official marble scores 8 and 9 of the two fullblood Wagyu oxen which was slaughtered during the past week. The oxen weighed 912 and 864 kg respectively, with hot carcass weights of 570.8 and 497.2 kg each. Founding member and Wagyu breeder Sarel du Toit is proud of the results achieved and has confidence in the quality feeding and breeding systems implemented.

The grading of Wagyu works different to commodity beef. It considers intramuscular fat (IMF) more commonly known as "marbling". This marbling is fat in-between the muscle fibers which makes the beef juicier and also tender for a high-quality eating experience. Throughout Desert Wagyu’s social media campaign, we have prepared content to educate consumers about our Wagyu beef, including it's marbling but also the health benefits of what is referred to as "heart healthy Wagyu beef".