Ostrich meat

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Fresh ostrich steak from the thigh

In ostrich meat is the meat of farmed African ostriches . They are raised in so-called ostrich farms, mainly in South Africa (market share: 75%), but also on a small scale in Europe, Australia and the USA. There have been breeding farms in Germany since the 1990s. In 2001 around 350,000 farm ostriches were kept worldwide, around 30,000 of them in Europe.

After the first cases of BSE in Europe, demand for ostrich meat increased. In 2001, a total of 6500 to 7500 tons of meat were marketed worldwide. 80 percent of this was exported to Germany. In 2002, however, the temporary boom in demand subsided somewhat. In 2011 the EU issued an import ban on South African ostrich meat due to an outbreak of bird flu; this was restricted to parts of the affected Western Cape province in the same year . South Africa exports around 90% of its ostrich meat production, 96% of which to the EU.

The ostriches are slaughtered at around 14 months. A bird weighing around 100 kilograms provides around 35 kg of meat. It is sold as fillet , steak and roast meat. The meat is nutritionally similar to that of other poultry and has a low fat content. Ostrich meat is therefore often marinated in gastronomy .

“The fact that nowhere else so much ostrich meat is consumed as in Germany is the result of years of association work.” “Analyzes of frozen ostrich meat from South Africa showed the same protein and cholesterol levels as lean beef or pork. Chicken breast even has a quarter less cholesterol . "

It is not entirely clear whether ostriches can also develop BSE if they are not fed appropriately. Symptoms similar to BSE appeared in German zoo ostriches at the end of the 1980s; examinations found holes in the brains of dead birds similar to those of infected cattle. Veterinarians cited the feeding of animal meal as the cause . This practice in livestock and poultry farming is now banned within the EU .

Web links

Commons : Ostrich meat  - collection of images
Wiktionary: Ostrich meat  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

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  1. ^ A b Republic of South Africa, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries: A Profile of the South African Ostrich Market Value Chain
  2. ↑ a b c d ZEIT article: Strauss in mad cow disease? (2001)
  3. ↑ a b Information on ostrich meat ( Memento from February 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ^ New Europe: Green light for food imports from Lithuania and South Africa