Opinion

In the world of elite meat, Dutch veal is a delicacy with its niche on the more expensive side of the scale. Yet it has a powerful footing in Europe, especially in France and Italy.  

Food Safety News this week is participating in a media tour sponsored by “Trusted Veal from Europe,” a campaign with support from the European Union.  It is  centered on the Dutch Veal region of the Amsterdam area of The Netherlands.

The kick-off event for this tour by a mix of American and Canadian journalists was a dinner at the Restaurant  Hoogheid near Apeldoom.  The five-course dinner with multiple appetizers featured veal throughout in some surprising ways.   Steak tartare of veal, broth of veal, sweetbreads, and Veal Kaibi-kimchi.  The main course was Tomahawk-liver-fall truffle.  Desserts were a tasty blend that included Jack Daniels Toffee,

I am sharing that not because Food Safety News is getting into the restaurant review business, but to demonstrate how versatile veal is in preparations by European Chefs and others around the world.

But the reason Food Safety News wanted to pay Dutch veal a visit is because of the claim by our new Dutch friends’ that their veal is the safest in the world.  The food industry always pays hommage to food safety, but few claim to be the best.  We’ll check it out as the week progresses.

We are promised a “deep dive” into the Dutch veal industry’s “expertise and commitment to the highest European food safety, quality control animal welfare standards in order to produce tasty and quality products that can be enjoyed around the world.”

We are visiting farms and production centers with the participation of the Dutch Meat Industry Association, which is excited about the opening its veal has gained in the Chinese market.

Dutch veal also adheres to the EU Standards on Animal Health and Welfare that require the animals are raised in well-lite, property ventilated space that is sufficient for them to move about. The EU regulations were designed to end veal’s bad old days of confinement.

EU regulations have also played a part in Dutch veal’s “farm to fork” system of “full traceability.”  We are looking forward to learning more about it. The EU is apparently tracing animals with more than branding and ear tags.

We’ll also be looking at the “Controlled Quality Veal (CQV” certificate, Dutch veal’s quality control program.

We are hoping the cold and rainy weather breaks with some sunshine before we have to return home. We are supposed to take a food bike tour of Amsterdam and I am not really into getting wet.

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