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The Evolution of a Classic Pairing By Alan MacKenzie B.C. restaurants put locally produced wine-fed beef on their menus. A s most foodies know, red wine and beef make a great pairing. So, what if that wine is added directly to the meat before it’s even led to slaughter? That question is being answered at Sezmu Meats, a Kelowna, British Columbia company that specializes in producing wine-fed beef. Janice Ravndahl, who owns the company with her brother Darrel Timm, began experimenting with feeding wine to bovine in April 2009 and earlier this year brought their product to the marketplace. For 90 days prior to slaughter her cattle is fed one litre of wine a day per head. “The beef is really, really red – it’s much more red than regular beef. And the smell – I opened a container of ground beef here the other night and it smelled like I opened a bottle of wine for a few moments,” she said, noting the flavour of the meat is also affected by feeding the cattle wine. “It does give it a slight sweet tinge to the taste.” Ravndahl said the idea of feeding wine to cattle came to her while watching The F Word, a reality TV show featuring renowned British chef Gordon Ramsay. “One of the objectives of his show is to show his kids where food comes from, so every season he raises a different animal. In his third season he raised pigs, and he decided to do a little experiment – he fed one of them beer,” Ravndahl said. “That got my brain ticking. I grew up on a beef farm, I live in the Okanagan Valley and I’m surrounded by vineyards – I just thought red wine would make a better combination for beef, as opposed to beer.” In Japan, Kobe beef is produced using beer-fed cattle, but Ravndahl said she only knows of one other company – in Australia – that produces wine-fed beef. Response The response to the product, Ravndahl said, has been very enthusiastic. Michael Allemeier, a culinary arts instructor at SAIT Polytechnic College in Calgary, was so impressed that it led to the product being served at Mission Hill Family Estate, a Kelowna winery where he recently served as executive chef. A handful of other restaurants in the area also serve the company’s wine-fed beef – and Sezmu steaks are now available at the retail counter of Cook’s Quality Meats in nearby Westbank. Ken Briden, owner of Cook’s Quality Meats, said the feedback from customers has been very positive. “It’s definitely AAA, and it’s better than most of the stuff that’s out there,” he said. “As soon as I sampled it I knew it would sell for sure.” Ravndahl noted the product is also being used in processed meat products such as smokies, sausages and pepperoni at Johnny’s Meats and Deli in the nearby community of Rutland. CFIA approval But just as Sezmu Meats began gaining momentum for its wine-fed meat, the company hit a snag – in late August the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) called Ravndahl and told her that wine is not an approved feed ingredient for cattle and that she could no longer sell the product. The agency told her the concern was mostly about sediments in the wine. The unfortunate news quickly made headlines across the country and within days the CFIA backed off, Ravndahl said. Ravndahl and Dr. John Church, a professor and cattle research chair at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, both said they didn’t understand the CFIA’s initial stance, as all ingredients in the wine are also approved ingredients for feed. “This is wine that we’re using for human consumption – so if we’re worried about feeding it to cattle, maybe we should be re-examining giving it to people,” Church said with a laugh, adding that he’s relieved that the agency backed off, as he is in the early planning stages of a research study on the wine-fed cattle. 14 Canadian Meat Business September/October 2010 meatbusiness.ca
Research study Specifically, Church said, the study – which, pending provincial funding, he hopes will start in October – will look at the effects of certain ingredients that may reduce methane emissions and harmful bacteria. “ Wine is a very good source of tannins, a secondary plant metabolite has been shown to be one of the best ways to reduce methane. We want to look at the tannins found in wine and see if the addition to the feed actually reduces the methane,” he explained. “There’s also a compound found in wine called reservatrol that has been shown in vitro to be quite a powerful microbial. So we’re also geared up to look at the microbiology – we want to see what the impact is on E. coli and antibiotic resistance in general,” he said, adding that fatty acid profiles will also be examined to see if there are any changes to omega-3 or conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content. Church also noted that the effect on the meat itself, specifically its tenderness and flavour and colour, will be studied. “I’ve certainly had the wine-fed beef myself and at the time it seemed sweeter. It was a really nice product, but it’s kind Photos: Trudephoto.com of anecdotal – you don’t know if that’s how the steak would have been anyway,” he said. Church added that he’s surprised there has been little backlash about boozing-up the cows, particularly from “activist types” – but he noted that part of his study will look into the alcohol’s effect on the animals. “We’re going to set up a behavioural test and measure their chute exit speed,” he said. “I’ve actually gone to the feedlot and seen the cattle. My academic background is in animal behaviour and I certainly couldn’t see a difference.” He estimated that, based on body mass alone, a litre of wine a day for a cow may be equivalent to a glass of wine a day for a person – an amount widely determined to be heart-healthy for humans. “Cows are also ruminants, so I’m not sure how much wine would actually get through the rumen,” he said. “I can’t see it having any impact on them whatsoever.” Ravndahl said the only difference she’s seen after adding wine to the cattle’s feed is that the animals are calmer. Currently Sezmu’s wine-fed beef is only available in B.C., but there are plans to expand to other markets in the near future. Janice Ravndahl and Darrel Timm operate Sezmu Meats in Kelowna, B.C. “I opened a container of ground beef here the other night and it smelled like I opened a bottle of wine for a few moments.” – Janice Ravndahl please visit us at: www.sperlingind.com “BOSS” equipment Industry providers to the food industry for over 100 years... • Focused on food safety with enhanced production reliability. • Specializing in engineering, fabrication, installations, Beef & Pork. • BOSS provides packers with reliable efficient equipment. Sperling Industries Ltd. 51 Station St, (Box 100) Sperling, MB Canada R0G 2M0 1-204-626-3401 or Fax 1-204-626-3252 Also: Brandon, MB 1-204-729-9190 2420 Z Street, Omaha, NE 68107 1-402-556-4070 meatbusiness.ca September/October 2010 Canadian Meat Business 15
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