Where to buy real lamb? The Sheep Farming Association announces 55 domestic lamb specialty stores
Food safety scandals keep piling up, and recently there were reports of unscrupulous operators selling water-injected mutton, even mixing low-priced imported pork in and passing it off as mutton. The Republic of China Sheep and Goat Breeders' Association today launched the "Domestic Mutton Specialty Store Lightbox Sign": currently there are already 13 counties and cities across Taiwan with a total of 55 specialty stores. Zhang Fulong, chairman of the Republic of China Sheep and Goat Breeders' Association, said that random inspections will be carried out at irregular intervals, comparing farmers' shipment volumes with retailers' sales volumes, with strict gatekeeping, and he hopes the public will give domestic mutton a chance. (For the list of the 55 specialty stores, please see the appendix at the end of the article.)
Sheep and Goat Breeders' Association announces 55 domestic mutton specialty stores
Besides domestic mutton, the Sheep and Goat Breeders' Association also launched in 2001 the "GGM Domestic Fresh Goat Milk Label Certification," with GGM standing for "Good Goat's Milk," and 90% of goat milk producers have already joined.
Huang Guoqing said that currently Taiwan has about 300-plus goat dairy farms, more than 50,000 dairy goats, and more than 110,000 meat goats. Although the self-sufficiency rate is not high, the output value is more than 1.7 billion, and grass-fed goats have higher unsaturated fatty acids. The Council of Agriculture is promoting the revitalization of fallow land, encouraging farmers to grow chopped corn and forage, and consumers supporting domestic mutton can also help revitalize fallow land.
Zhang Fulong said that more than 90% of the mutton hot pot bought by consumers in hypermarkets is imported meat. Among the current 55 domestic mutton specialty stores, one specializes in fresh, uncooked mutton, and another 4 specialize in home-delivered mutton hot pot. If consumers want to try the taste of local mutton, they can check the store addresses on the Sheep and Goat Breeders' Association's official website.