Hyundai Department Store, Rising Demand for Animal Welfare Meat... Selling Korea's First Certified Hanwoo

Manhee Farm, certified as the first animal welfare livestock Korean beef farm in Korea.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Hyundai Department Store announced on the 26th that starting from the 28th, it will be the first in the industry to introduce the ‘Korea’s first animal welfare certified Hanwoo’ at the food sections of eight stores nationwide.

The Hanwoo being sold this time was raised at Manhee Farm located in Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, which is the first Hanwoo farm in Korea certified as an animal welfare livestock farm. The animal welfare livestock farm certification system is a program certified by the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency for livestock farms that manage animals to live while maintaining their natural behaviors and promote animal welfare. Since its introduction in 2012, among the approximately 300 farms certified to date, Manhee Farm is the first Hanwoo farm. The standards are strict, requiring, for example, 2.8 times more space for raising animals compared to regular Hanwoo farms and dedicated exercise yards for cattle to be certified as an animal welfare livestock Hanwoo farm.

Manhee Farm’s Hanwoo is characterized by its rich natural meat aroma due to being fed only organic feed. More than 10 cuts are sold, including grilling sirloin, tenderloin, striploin, as well as cuts for soup and bulgogi. The selling price for 1++ grade sirloin and striploin (100g) is 30,600 KRW, and tenderloin (100g) is 31,100 KRW, which is 30-40% higher compared to Hanwoo sold in existing department store food sections.

Hyundai Department Store’s move to sell animal welfare certified Hanwoo comes as value consumption has become a trend, and demand for meat products certified for animal welfare is rapidly increasing. In fact, sales of animal welfare certified pork and chicken at Hyundai Department Store increased by 253.1% year-on-year last year, and sales from January 1 to the 23rd of this month also rose by more than 40% compared to the same period last year.

A Hyundai Department Store official said, “With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, demand for eco-friendly food has increased, and customers are increasingly scrutinizing not only organic certification but also the rearing environment. We will continue to expand animal welfare certified meat products and strive to offer valuable and diverse products to our customers.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.