Chefs and employees showcase certified Beef-on-Track from Brazil during the 4th Tianjin International Shipping Industry Expo in Tianjin on June 3. LIU NAIWEN/FOR CHINA DAILY

China's first shipment of certified Beef-on-Track from Brazil arrived at Tianjin Port last month, with visitors to the 4th Tianjin International Shipping Industry Expo lining up to try the BOT steaks — and the reviews were glowing.

The Tianjin Meat Industry Association signed a cooperation agreement with Brazilian counterparts at the expo. The first bulk shipment of the beef is expected to arrive at Tianjin Port in August, eventually making its way to dining tables across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

"China is our main export destination, accounting for roughly half of Brazil's total beef exports," said Marina Guyot, executive director of the Institute of Agricultural and Forest Management and Certification, at the signing ceremony.

Xing Yanling, president of the Tianjin Meat Industry Association, said that Tianjin Port, as the largest cold-chain gateway in northern China, has a well-established cold-chain storage, customs clearance and distribution system, handling nearly 60 percent of the country's Brazilian beef imports annually.

To source the beef, a team from the association traveled to Para state in Brazil in April, visiting the Fazenda Carioca ranch and the Mafrinorte slaughterhouse to inspect ecological farming practices, standardized slaughter processes and full-chain quality controls. They also held discussions with local prosecutors and the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce on regulatory and environmental compliance.

BOT is a sustainable beef certification initiative launched in 2019 by Brazil's Federal Prosecutor's Office and the Institute of Agricultural and Forest Management and Certification.

Under this framework, ranchers are required to commit to environmental stewardship — specifically, zero deforestation — to protect what many call the "lungs of the Earth". Pasture management is tightly controlled, with no more than eight cattle per 6.67 hectares of grassland. As a result, the beef carries a slightly higher production cost than conventional beef.

"We hope to bring premium protein from around the world to Tianjin Port, and from there to the wider Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region," Xing said.

Once a cold-chain container completes its weeks-long ocean voyage and arrives at Tianjin Port, it enters a streamlined clearance process. Paperless customs procedures ensure that compliant frozen goods pass through quickly. At the container terminal, smart loading and unloading equipment moves containers off the docks and into cold-chain warehouses with minimal delay.

For containers that need temporary port storage, thousands of shore power sockets provide uninterrupted electricity, keeping frozen goods at a constant minus 25 C. Port workers conduct regular inspections to check power supply and compressor status, ensuring cargo quality is maintained throughout.

From the docks, containers are transported to cold-chain warehouses clustered around the port area. Tianjin currently has 155 registered cold-chain storage facilities with a total capacity of approximately 3 million metric tons. As one of China's primary frozen goods import hubs, the port handled about 2.3 million metric tons of frozen imports last year, valued at 61.39 billion yuan ($9.06 billion) — ranking second nationally.

Tianjin's 15th Five-Year Plan identifies cold-chain logistics as a key component of modern transport and shipping services, with plans to strengthen the sector as a strategic pillar.