Originally Posted by StuckInYYZ

Yes and no. My first question would be "What is American-style Kobe beef?" If it's Akaushi, it's at least wagyu (of some form). However, that doesn't necessarily make it Kobe. Depending on who you talk to, it helps a bit, but considering that they might have mixed lineages (see link in previous email) it leads to the other part...

The horror of what the point of grounding it up is? Wagyu (Kobe or not) is prized for it's marbling of the fat and meat (vs the usual veins of fat). Grounding the meat defeats the purpose of it.. They also don't say 100% "American-style Kobe beef"... so maybe no animal byproducts (many which I think are still illegal there) but not necessarily 100% wagyu either.