(Photo : Japanese Kobe beef)

Fat deposited into the muscle fibers, forming a marble-style texture, alternating red and white, with its wonderful flavor and tenderness, this may be the favorable impression on us about the Japanese Kobe beef.

Like Us on Facebook

Japanese Kobe beef is regarded as a top-grade delicacy in China, where expensive dishes are served in many high-end restaurants. What these consumers may not know is that, in fact, China bans all imports of Japanese Kobe beef. And according to nutritionists, this kind of high-fat beef could harm health, even play a role in the development of colorectal cancer.

What is Kobe beef? It refers only to beef produced from Tajima Province of Japan. It is said these cows are raised by listening to music, drinking beer and enjoying massages. The meat from the classic part of an authentic Tajima cow tastes delicious, as the fat ratio of Kobe beef is far higher than normal beef. In addition, the fat is evenly distributed with a snowflake texture.

Kobe beef is the specialty for many high-end Japanese restaurants in China. Take several Japanese restaurants around downtown districts of Beijing as examples. The prices of per Kobe beef dish range from 188 yuan to 688 yuan for about 150 grams of beef, which means the price for Kobe beef is over 2000 yuan per kilogram. A consumer who was dining in one of the restaurants told our journalist he had ever been to Japan. There, he tasted Kobe beef and felt the meat was so yummy. Since then, he frequents the Japanese restaurants in China to eat Kobe beef.  "Those cows are raised greenly. So I'm sure the meat will benefit my health." He said.

However, actually, China has banned all imports of beef and beef products from Japan since 2001, including the expensive Kobe beef. In 2011, the mad cow disease broke out in Japan. Later, all imports of beef and beef products from Japan are included in China's catalogue of commodities forbidden to import. The prohibition has not been lifted so far, which means all the Japanese Kobe Beef sold in Chinese market is fake.