Contact meat and poultry importers to obtain products from several different countries

Some countries specialize in just one kind of meat or poultry. It's easier to find vacuum-packed fresh meats which are available from several countries. However, if you're looking for poultry, you'll have to make do with processed chicken, such as in pâtés.

I recommend: Meat & Livestock Australia, which imports beef and lamb from Australia, maintains a list of companies importing Australian meat and provides complete contact information for most. Also, A Taste of Italy Foods has a somewhat limited product line for imported Italian meats, but the company allows you to purchase meats by the piece rather than in bulk. Fine French Foods imports processed chicken and meats directly from France and at affordable prices.

Establish accounts with experienced foreign export meat packers

You can contact the foreign exporters directly by phone or through updated e-mail addresses posted on their websites.

I recommend: JBS Swift & Company, the largest meat exporter in Australia, has decades of experience under its belt and exports meat to 13 different countries. Landfa Australian Meat Exports prides itself on its agreeable prices for beef, mutton, lamb and veal. S.S. Brothers specializes in the increasingly popular buffalo as a beef export. Biz Dimension Company is one of the few chicken exporters with a solid reputation for its frozen poultry from Thailand.

Experiment with exotic choices from meat exporters

You may import specialty meats, such as kangaroo or ostrich, as long as you comply with the federal government's guidelines for imported foods.

I recommend: Macro Meats is an exporter who specializes in many different cuts of Kangaroo meat. Also, D'Groot International Food Marketing Pty Ltd. is a leader in the game meat market and offers meat from ostrich, wild boar, camel and even crocodile.

Deal with domestic meat exporters

If you are more comfortable dealing with U.S. companies. There are a couple which are very reliable.

I recommend: Two of the largest exporters of meat and poultry and certainly the most accessible, the U.S. Meat Export Federation and the U.S.A. Poultry & Egg Export Council, both seek to help their members tap into new markets.