“Wait… this too… wow, it says Spanish Iberico!”
“And the barley-fed pork…?”
“This is correct too! It clearly says Canadian barley-fed pork.”
The staff member also nodded with a look of wonder. Jin-woo spoke in admiration.
“Wow… this is really amazing. You got all three of them exactly right!”
“Then, can you trust my judgment on the fifth plate now?”
Jin-woo looked at the packaging again. I picked up the meat again and said in a confident voice, “I guarantee that this meat is imported frozen meat that has been thawed. And everything is being filmed right now, isn’t it?”
I reached out toward the camera.
“Viewers, you all saw it, right? It says ‘Domestic’ on the packaging, but it’s actually imported. What clearer evidence could there be? Trust me and report it. If you’re still skeptical, watch me get everything else right and then report it.”
Jin-woo suddenly stammered as if flustered.
“Ah… well… I guess I should really report it after filming.”
“It’s because of people like this that even those who do business honestly suffer. Consumers are deceived, and diligent entrepreneurs end up in an unfair situation.”
Jin-woo and the staff moved the meat in question into a separate bag.
“Now, shall we talk about something positive?”
Changing the mood, I pointed to the seventh and tenth plates.
“These two are not from special brands, but the quality is truly excellent.”
“Is there a big difference in quality even if it’s just regular pork?”
“Yes, look at this meat.”
I explained while lifting the meat.
“The color looks great, doesn’t it? It has a clear pinkish-red hue, a good luster, and the fat distribution is even. The elasticity is also wonderful.”
I pressed it with my finger.
“It comes right back up, doesn’t it?”
“Then where did this meat come from?”
“I think it came from a farm with a good breeding environment. It shows characteristics of a pig that grew up with little stress. It was probably a pig raised with care at a farm.”
I moved on to the tenth piece of meat.
“The same goes for this one. The smell is clean, and the texture is firm yet soft.”
“So there’s this much of a difference even among regular pork.”
“Exactly. What consumers need to know is the actual quality, not the brand. Just because it’s a famous brand doesn’t mean it’s unconditionally good, and just because it’s regular meat doesn’t mean it’s all bad.”
“Then, is this good meat really domestic? Shall we check?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
I answered confidently. Jin-woo and the staff looked for the packaging for the seventh and tenth meats.
“The seventh one… says it’s domestic pork.”
“The tenth… this also says domestic.”
“Right? This kind of meat is truly domestic. The color, texture, and smell all show the characteristics of domestic pork.”
I explained while looking at the camera.
“Compare it with the thawed meat from the fifth plate. Both are labeled as domestic, but the quality is completely different, isn’t it? This is the difference between the real thing and a fake.”
“There’s certainly a visible difference.”
“Domestic pigs raised properly on honest farms produce this kind of high quality. On the other hand, because of places that deceive people by selling frozen imported meat as domestic, even the real domestic meat gets doubted.”
I showed the high-quality meat once more and said, “Honest companies like these need to be properly evaluated. That way, consumers can eat truly good meat, and diligent farmers can be rewarded.”
Jin-woo nodded with a serious expression.
“And these three plates… are in a frozen state.”
I pointed to three of the remaining plates in turn. On the three plates were lumps of pork belly that were frozen hard.
“Ah, yes. I prepared a few frozen meats too. Can you distinguish these as well?”
Jin-woo had a half-doubting expression, as if he thought it would be impossible to tell with frozen meat. I examined the three frozen meats in order.
“This meat… is from the United States. Look, the fat layer is thick and the marbling is coarse. These characteristics appear because they raise them mainly on corn feed.”
“This is from Europe. The boundary between the fat and the lean meat is very distinct, and it shows a uniform color overall. Europe has strict breeding standards, so it produces consistent quality like this.”
“And this one… looks like it’s from Chile. It has the strong redness characteristic of South American meat, and the fat distribution is irregular.”
Jin-woo’s eyes went wide, and his mouth hung open. It wasn’t the exaggerated reaction for a broadcast; this time, it was a truly surprised expression.
“Wow… you can even tell the country in a frozen state? They all look the same to me.”
“If I can brag a little, not just anyone can reach this level.”
“What on earth are you looking at to know that?”
“Since the breeding environment, feed, and slaughtering methods are different for each country, those characteristics remain in the meat. I know that and distinguish them in detail. I have my own standards. I’ll keep the details as a trade secret.”
The camera moved in for close-ups of the three frozen meats one by one.
I gathered the plates that didn’t have any particular characteristics. I passed through these remaining plates with quick explanations. I couldn’t keep today’s lead actor waiting for too long.
“Now, finally, it’s the last one. Shall we go to the third plate?”
I finally pointed to the plate containing the Mega Meat pork. Jin-woo watched with an expectant look.
“Ah, that’s the meat you put on hold at first!”
“That’s right. Now it’s time to take a close look. There’s a reason I saved it for last.”
I carefully lifted the meat.
“This meat… first of all, it seems to have come from a large company.”
“How can you tell?”
“There are a few characteristics. First, look at the cut surface. It’s perfectly uniform. This is a trace of being cut by an industrial slicer. It’s hard for manual work with a knife or a manual slicer, or even a commercial slicer used in small butcher shops, to come out this accurately.”
I showed the edge of the meat close to the camera.
“Second, the thickness is very consistent. It clearly shows it was measured and cut by a machine. Large companies have standardized production systems.”
I examined the meat in detail again.
“Looking at the color and texture of this meat, it shows characteristics of a mass production system. Should I say it’s too uniform? It has an unnatural consistency.”
Jin-woo nodded.
“It definitely feels different from the other meats.”
“Ah! Don’t misunderstand. I’m not claiming that meat from large companies is bad. I’m just saying the traces of a systematized mass production are clearly visible. In fact, it might even be better in terms of hygiene.”
However, I soon furrowed my brow.
“But this company… is either a company that has sold its conscience or one that has internal problems.”
“Why do you say that?” Jin-woo asked in a tense voice.
“Among the pork belly, there’s something else. Sow meat. You know it well, right?”
“Sow meat? Surely, you mean the sow meat I’m thinking of?”
“You’re thinking of a female pig that has given birth, right? This is of a completely different quality than regular pigs.”
“Right.”
“Look here. The two strips on top are regular pork belly, but the one strip on the bottom is definitely sow meat. Sows have much thicker and harder fat layers than regular pigs. And the muscle fibers look coarse and tough. In particular, this deeper, duller red color is a characteristic of sow meat.”
Jin-woo wore a flustered expression.
“Above all, the smell is different. It has a much stronger pork odor than regular pork belly.”
“…Then… did they deceive the consumers?”
“Exactly. Sow meat is much cheaper than regular pork belly. But they sell it by mixing it with regular pork belly and charging the same price. I can’t say it’s unconditionally illegal, but this is a clear deception of the consumer.”
I spoke firmly toward the camera.
“For a large company to do business like this… it’s truly disappointing. It means they have the system, but they don’t have a conscience.”
“Then, shall we check the packaging for this third meat?”
The staff member hurried to find the corresponding packaging. The moment he confirmed the packaging, Jin-woo’s face stiffened.
“Uh… this is…”
Jin-woo couldn’t finish his sentence as he stared at the packaging. The staff also had a surprised look on their faces after seeing the packaging.
“This… it really was bought at a large chain. Due to broadcasting regulations, we will not reveal the name of the company.”
I spoke firmly toward the camera.
“It’s truly a shame. For someone who brags about knowing a thing or two about meat… for a company whose name even an elementary school student would know… to do business this way is nonsense.”
The level of my words teetered on the edge but didn’t cross the line. I couldn’t ruin things by causing other legal issues.
“Systematic packaging, clean displays, plausible marketing… it all looks perfect on the outside, but this is the reality.”
Jin-woo watched me with an awkward expression. I showed the meat close to the camera once more.
“They use the brand power that consumers trust to deceive them like this. It’s truly loathsome. And even excluding the sow meat, it’s by no means high-quality meat.”
*Thud!*
I slammed the lump of pork belly I was holding onto the workbench.