Australia’s largest meat company JBS has unveiled a new premium beef product for high end dining.
Part of the Southern brand family, the natural grassfed beef product Little Joe was developed to meet the increasing demand by beef connoisseurs for more premium options, according to the processor.
Great Southern is a range of restaurant‐graded beef and lamb, and the rich marbling found in the Little Joe product is the defining trait of product, which makes it a worthy alternative to Wagyu beef, according to JBS.
The company, which is also involved in commodity trading, has been moving into high value market niches. In February, JBS started its first Certified Organic beef program.
JBS Australia spokesperson Sam McConnell said Little Joe beef offers a new level of marbling in grassfed beef, with a minimal score of 4.
Little Joe was developed in direct response to strong demand in the market for a premium product with eating qualities previously thought impossible with a pure grassfed diet, he said, and without the use of antibiotics, hormones or other unnatural ingredients.
“It is such a unique and exceptional beef that it was thought impossible to achieve, and now that we have, it’s near-impossible to replicate,” McConnell said. “Further, it is 100 per cent natural.”
McConnell said JBS purposely targeted a selection of producers for the brand, and that the Little Joe product would be sold in Australia and exported around the world.
“We have great market access for this product and will be shipping it around the world to places including China, the United States, Japan, and the Halal markets in the Middle East and Malaysia,” he said.
JBS said that Little Joe is guaranteed to be produced from cattle that have been raised on a 100 per cent grass diet their entire life, meet a high marble score, with a minimal score of 4, and are free of antibiotics, added hormones and GMOs.
Little Joe cattle have also been raised by specially licensed livestock producers that have been independently, third party accredited through the JBS Farm Assurance Program.
