Croc tail replacing oxtail on German tables

FRANKFURT, Germany (DPA): BSE, or mad cow disease, has become such a worry to many German consumers that many are forsaking their traditional beef roasts and turning to more exotic cuts of meat.

In many a restaurant kitchen crocodile tail has already replaced the traditional oxtail; gnu, springbok and even rattlesnake are now landing on customers' plates.

Orders for emu, crocodile and kangaroo meat, for example, have more than doubled in the last few weeks, reports meat wholesaler Moehring in Offenbach near Frankfurt, and boss Jochen Heftrich says his company cannot keep up with demand.

He is impatiently awaiting the next consignment from his importer in Rotterdam who delivers Australian exotics, bison from Canada and crocodile from Zimbabwe twice a week.

Clear favorites are ostrich and emu, which make up over the half of all Moehring's orders, followed by kangaroo and crocodile. Other exotics are not so popular and only make up about 5 percent of the total.

Prices for these specialities are varied. Kangaroo can be bought for seven marks (US$3.50) per kilogram, emu steaks cost about $8 and croc haunch $9. Rattlesnake is much more expensive at $50 a kilo. A typical rattler weighs about 800 grams and is delivered skinned, headless, tailless and rolled up into a coil.

"It looks like a giant bratwurst," says Jochen Heftrich, describing the light-colored serpent meat, which test-consumers find "chickeny".

More and more restaurants are turning to kangaroo meat and numerous hotels and eateries have inquired of suppliers where they get their marsupial meat, which takes slightly of game.

Even private customers ring up Moehring, asking where they can obtain kangaroo or emu meat for a party treat or the Sunday roast.

Fresh ostrich is usually transported by airfreight, the other types of meat deep-frozen and sent by ship, which makes it cheaper, according to wholesaler Heftrich.

The import of exotic meats like these is not without problem and is subject to the CITES agreement (Committee for the International Trade in Endangered Species). For example, an export and an import permit is required for trade in crocodile meat. The permit must state that the animals were bred for consumption purposes, according to customs authorities in Frankfurt.