The European hare in Argentina
The European hare was introduced in Argentina in 1888, finding the optimal conditions for the development of its population. The result was the expansion of hares to all regions of the country. Nowadays, its meat is an important “gourmet” product obtained from nature through commercial hunting, which is practised every year during the winter season.
From the nutritional point of view hare meat is characterized by its low fat, high proteins and low-calories contents.
The optimal development of the hare can be appreciated in Pampas and Patagonian prairies, two extended and vast regions with rich natural vegetation. The hare gets the necessary nutrients for growth and development from the herbs found in these regions. This is the reason why Argentine hare meat is considered to be a healthy and natural product, obtained from a generous environment where nature is in the finest conditions.
In contrast with livestock meat, hare meat is dark in colour, which is characteristic of all game meats, with special tenderness and intense taste. It is a refined and exquisite gastronomic product, which the most demanding people know how to appreciate. It is not a product meant for massive consumption. On the contrary, it is regarded as “delicatessen” meant for people who know how to treat themselves with the best possible product.
The exporting industry hare meat
The exporting industry of hare meat has a vast and extended experience in processes and exporting of meat to Europe. This industry has a fifty-year experience and has always been based on strong sanitary conditions through the implementation of modern technology and processes of quality control, such as HACCP, GPM and SSOP´s. Moreover, these quality systems are complemented with origin and elaboration traceability systems, which give products the necessary sanitary securities for European consumers as well as the necessary guarantees to consume high quality meat.
Apart form having the best production conditions, this industry also complies with all the demands of the European Union legislation, especially with those implemented during 2006. Industrial plants are inspected periodically and are submitted to sanitary controls and laboratory analysis by sanitary authorities. The most specific and complete information about environmental and sanitary conditions is found in scientific studies carried out by Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria (SENASA).
All the previously mentioned conditions make Argentine hare meat a product of exceptional nutritional and sanitary characteristics for European consumers.