It’s never been easy to transport meat and other food products internationally. Essentially, most airports and airlines frown upon and, in most instances, ban this practice. Until now.
Fly Your Wagyu Beef Using Zipair
Japanese airline Zipair announced last month that it has partnered with Ja Zen-Noh Meat Foods and JAL Cargo Service to offer a new service to purchase some of the world’s most sought after and cherished meats, the mighty wagyu beef, for customers traveling to Singapore and the United States. Happy days indeed for all the carnivores out there.
According to Zipair, “customers will have the option to purchase the gift item on Zipair’s website, which will be available for check-in on the day of departure, providing a stress-free retail experience. Moving forward, JAL Zen-Noh Group will work with local meat manufacturers to supply Japanese wagyu beef, which will be stored, packed, and prepared for export through Narita City Wholesale Market. JAL Cargo will transport the items directly to Narita International Airport on the day of departure.”
It seems that this new service is part of an effort in accordance with Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries goal to reach ¥5 trillion in annual exports by 2030.
Available Destinations for Beef Shipping
The only stipulations for use of this meaty service are that the purchases have to be made 48 hours prior to departure. The wagyu will be available to check in at the counter in the airport and customers need to pick up their beef upon arrival at their destination, either in Singapore or the United States. The current list of destinations in the U.S. are Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, and Honolulu.
The details of this service are that the wagyu involved is Grade A5 — the good stuff — and the limits on the Singapore route are up to 5 kilograms per customer and 22.6 kilograms per customer traveling to destinations in the US. The prices for all this wagyu goodness are available here.