Meat Moves Beyond the Butcher

An increasing number of case-ready, minimally processed, uncooked meat and poultry products are appearing in retailers refrigerated cases. In fact, for food-safety reasons, many retailers no longer handle fresh poultry on premises. Most continue to process primal cuts of beef and pork into consumer-ready cuts, ranging from chops to roasts. However, an increasing number of retailers only stock case-ready meat and poultry, and no longer staff butcher counters. To create a point of differentiation among case-ready meat and poultry, many processors are enhancing product appeal by adding value through marinades and seasonings, as well as technologies to improve appearance, enhance food safety and ultimately extend shelf life.

Packing and packaging

Meat and poultry packing plants handle the livestock slaughtering, processing and varying degrees of packaging. The volume of case-ready packages produced is on the rise because retailers preference is to not expose raw meat to the supermarket environment.

The two most-common types of case-ready packaging are lid-sealed trays and overwrapped trays. Both often include additional packaging elements, such as an absorbent pad and sometimes an oxygen scavenger, says Tatjana Meerman, publisher, The Fresh Meat Market in the U.S., a market analysis from Packaged Facts, Rockville, MD. We are also seeing a growing trend of meat processors trimming, portioning and packing select cuts of meat and poultry for both retail and foodservice customers, as this creates consistent product quality and uniform appearance, reduces product waste and slashes labor requirements. Portion-controlled products also allow foodservice operators to order what they need when they need it, reducing opportunities for spoilage. For consumers, portion-controlled meat products appeal to the perpetual desire for convenience. Increased retailer demand for exact-weight meat products is another major driver in the portion-control category.

Meat and poultry manufacturers resist adding chemical preservatives to uncooked meat products, as it removes the natural, minimally processed halo these products wear. Hence, this is another reason why case-ready meat is becoming increasingly popular: the modified atmosphere used in the packaging assists with shelf life extension.

Better than nature

Consumers and foodservice establishments look to case-ready meat for more than portioning and longer shelf life. They are looking for improved flavor and texture, as well as convenience. Raw meat can be enhanced with moisturewater, broth or, in the case of certain whole-turkey products, fatas well as flavoring ingredients such as seasoning or marinade, says Meerman. Some raw meat becomes more flavorful when it is wrapped with a slice of bacon or stuffed with herb dressing. Whats important to remember is that when anything is added to meat, it must be declared on product labels.

Magic of marinades

Adding flavor to meat and poultry has traditionally been accomplished through liquid marinades, which also serve a number of functions. Marination is the process of soaking, injecting or tumbling meat in a seasoned liquid mixture or brine to enhance its flavor and texture, says Mar Nieto, senior principal scientist, TIC Gums, Belcamp, MD. A marinade consists of a number of functional ingredients, such as seasoning, acidulants, curing and tenderizing agents, salt, phosphates and gums.

When meat is marinated, the theory is that it holds more moisture in the spaces between its protein filaments. Salt increases the space in between the filaments by extracting salt-soluble meat proteins and causing the myofibular proteins to unfold so there is more space to trap the moisture. Phosphates increase meat pH, which shifts the pH away from the meat proteins isoelectric point and increases the water-holding capacity.

Xanthan is the gum of choice in both marinade dry mixes and ready-to-use liquid marinades due to its salt and pH tolerance, adds Nieto. Gums perform various functions in marinades, including providing a sauce-like appearance. A soupy or watery marinade reduces the shelf appeal of these products and is perceived as a defect. Gums also suspend spices and insoluble particulates; at the same time they thicken and improve cling of the sauce or marinade to the meat.

The surface marinades used in case-ready meat products are very different than the ones consumers purchase in a bottle and apply at home, notes Chris Kelly, director of technical services, Advanced Food Systems, Inc., Somerset, NJ. Were talking having the uncooked protein sit in the marinade for about three weeks at refrigerated temperatures, he says. The bottled marinades are designed to do their trick sometimes in 30 minutes.

Kelly explains that such industrial marinades cannot be too acidic, because the acid will degrade the texture of the protein over time. So, instead of using acidic ingredients such as vinegar or various citrus juices, we will often formulate such marinades with the flavors of these acids instead of the actual acid.

Marinades for refrigerated, uncooked protein products should be customized for each application. There are many variables to consider, including the protein type, the cut, the package type, the gas flush and the desired shelf life, says Kelly. And, of course, whats really important is creating that signature flavor profile that keeps consumers buying your product.

From an economic standpoint, it makes sense for meat and poultry packers to purchase marinade mixes that are put into solution at the plant. These mixes could be dry blends or concentrated slurries that are reconstituted with water.

Water quality must be factored into consideration, says Bosch. Hard water reduces the solubility of many ingredients in marinades. Other contaminants in water also affect product quality. For example, nitrites, even at very low levels, can cause discoloration in meat. Metals, such as iron and copper, as well as chlorine in water, will accelerate meat oxidation. He notes some phosphate blends are customized to work with water high in minerals and metals.

Injection and vacuum tumbling are the two most-common techniques to introduce marinades to meat and poultry. Injection is typically used on larger cuts or whole-muscle products that are bone-in, while tumbling works best on smaller cuts when there is a high surface-area-to-volume ratio. The latter allows for thorough penetration of the marinade for consistent flavor through the product. Further, when tumbling, vacuum is critical as it assists in tenderizing the protein by expanding the muscle and breaking down some of the structured network, improving absorption of the marinade.

Making marinades

Marinades for case-ready proteins, notes Kelly, need low levels of soluble solids, such as salt, sugar and maltodextrin. If they are too highly concentrated, depending on the application, he says, they could pull moisture out of the protein. And one of the reasons marinades are added to protein is to keep them tender and moist.

Keeping solids concentrations down in a marinade is important, notes Jenny Zhou, food scientist, ICL Performance Products LP, St. Louis, because the solids will build up on the surface of the protein and form a barrier, preventing the protein from absorbing the flavorful ingredients.

Many marinades include phosphates, continues Zhou, typically alkaline phosphates, which increase the meat water-holding capacity by increasing the protein pH away from its isoelectric point. The finished products are tender and juicier after cooking or reheating. Enhanced moisture retention also means the consumer sees less purge so the packaged product looks more desirable.

However, a higher pH is conducive to faster bacterial growth, which translates to a shorter shelf life. But, this can be compensated for through the addition of shelf-life-extending ingredients such as preservatives and antioxidants, Zhou says.

Phosphates are used at low levels, by law less than 0.5% by weight in the final product, which is just enough to assist in improving the quality of the product, says Richard Bosch, technical service fellow, ICL Performance Products. Further, phosphates work in synergy with salt, and often allow for a reduction of sodium in the marinade.

Zhou adds: To further reduce the sodium level, potassium phosphate could be used instead of sodium phosphate in many marinades. The slight bitterness of potassium could easily be masked by other seasonings and spices in the marinade.

Add-ins for extra shelf time

A number of natural ingredients exert preservative properties, thereby extending shelf life. For example, salt and acid, both standard marinade ingredients, function as preservatives. In addition, natural extracts derived from plants, herbs, spices or fruits, including rosemary, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, certain types of peppers and garlic, can be added via the marinade. Most are available as oleoresins for easy addition. There are also vitamin-based ingredients that function as antioxidants. The most popular are ascorbic acid, citric acid and tocopherols. Antioxidants have different strengths and vary in effectiveness according to the protein, other ingredients and packaging.

According to new research from scientists at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil, enzyme hydrolysis of casein could offer meat processors a natural antioxidant for uncooked beef and poultry products. In a paper published in LWTFood Science and Technology (Volume 42, Issue 4), Karina Rossini and her research team report that the smaller peptides produced during the enzymatic reaction could prevent fat oxidation in select meat products, which ultimately leads to organoleptic deterioration of the products flavor, color and texture.

Rossinis team used a number of commercial enzymes to produce the peptides. Casein was hydrolyzed for 4 hours at 50°C and pH 8, and the resulting peptides were analyzed. The peptides resulting from certain enzymes were more effective with inhibiting lipid oxidation than others when they were formulated into ground beef and mechanically deboned poultry samples. While the study is not the first of its kind to investigate the effects of casein peptides in meat formulations, it does support the potential of these ingredients at a time when food manufacturers continue to look for label-friendly preservation techniques.

Robert Brooks, technical specialist, World Technology Ingredients, Jefferson, GA, says: A few of the attributes our meat industry customers desire from the ingredients we offer are increased yields and alternatives to synthetically manufactured ingredients, along with marinade retention and improved water-holding capacity. The company recently began distributing injectable neutral, prebiotic, insoluble and soluble dietary fiber ingredients based on either corn or oats from Z Trim Holdings, Inc., Mundelein, IL. The fibers have been shown to improve texture, control water activity, and replace fat and calories while increasing yields.

The fiber ingredients are used in meats to achieve many of the same benefits of phosphates, according to Brooks. A marinade solution for muscle meatsusually injected but can work in tumbling as wellcan contain up to 1% of the ingredient, usually as part of a marinade or with flavorings, he says. It helps to bind moisture in the meat, keeping it juicy. Because it is a powder, it can also be mixed directlyby itself or as part of a seasoning blendinto ground meats with water (1% fiber ingredient with up to 9% additional water) to increase yield, retain moisture through cooking and heating, and to reduce fat content on a per-serving basis.

Beyond marinades

Marinades arent the only option for piquing consumer interest. Weve developed a number of technologies that enable processors to add consistent flavor and texture to meat and poultry cuts, explains Chris Carroll, president, Carroll Manufacturing & Sales, Avon, OH. With a number of different application methods, processors can apply spices and flavors faster, more evenly and with the controlled consistency that is important to their brands. Uniform spice coverage reduces leakers, enhances eye appeal and helps maintain the integrity and safety of processor brands.

Meat packers can add value with minimal extra work, says Carroll. Our sheets eliminate the step of blending ingredients in the right proportion. We create your signature flavor and apply it to the sheet. We include ingredients that dissolve and penetrate the meat or poultry, as well as ingredients that provide visual appeal. The company can even add ingredients that extend shelf life.

Our wraps come in dissolvable and nondissolvable versions and are ready to use with no mixing, blending or dispensing equipment required, Carroll continues. The dissolvable sheets are easily applied on the line, which means savings on labor and packaging. They dissolve quickly when moisture is present and after being vacuum sealed. No messy liquids to manage and no dry spices are wasted. Such sheets work well on spiral-sliced hams. The dissolvable sheet functions like the glaze the consumer usually applies at home. The non-dissolvable sheets are a moisture-activated film, he adds. They can be used in the same way to apply spices and seasonings, as well as to transfer logos or grill marks. The backing is oven-proof polyester approved for such applications.

Donna Berry, president of Chicago-based Dairy & Food Communications, Inc., a network of professionals in business-to-business technical and trade communications, has been writing about product development and marketing for 13 years. Prior to that, she worked for Kraft Foods in the natural-cheese division. She has a B.S. in food science from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She can be reached at [email protected] .