Processed meats are important
because:
1. Opportunities for value-added
products and improved marketing
– palatability and convenience of products
is critical
– meat processing (red meat) adds 34.8% to
value of raw materials(American Meat
Institute) poultry meat processing adds
131.3%!!!(AMI)
– these are finished product prices/cost of
materials (not the whole story)
Breakdown of Hog Packers’ and
Packer/Processors’ Sales Dollar by Percent of
Fresh Meat Sales
Fresh Meat Sales as % of Total Sales
Term
>67%
33-67%
<33%
Total Sales
100.00%
100.00%
100.00%
Livestock and/or
Meat
81.32
75.42
60.24
Supplies &
Containers
4.05
4.35
7.53
Production Labor
5.55
5.01
5.95
Cost of Goods
Sold
90.92
84.78
73.72
Gross Margin
9.08
15.22
26.28
Other Wages and
Salaries
1.69
3.29
5.32
Retirement Expense 0.02
0.35
0.03
Payroll Taxes
0.62
0.73
0.96
Insurance &
Hospitalization
0.52
1.21
1.49
Vacation, Holiday &
Sick Leave
0.45
0.50
0.56
All Other Benefits
0.18
0.10
0.13
Total Benefits
1.80
2.90
3.16
Employee Benefits:
Interest
0.71
0.35
0.34
Depreciation
0.83
0.65
1.50
Rents
0.15
0.59
1.50
General &
Administrative
Insurance
0.56
0.16
0.13
Taxes*
0.10
0.12
0.27
All Other Expenses
3.14
6.11
10.41
Total Expenses
99.90
98.96
95.28
Earnings Before
Taxes
0.10
1.04
4.72
Income Taxes
0.02
0.73
2.13
Net Earnings
0.08
0.31
2.59
Source: American Meat Institute Financial Operating Survey of the Meat Industry
(Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding of numbers)
2. Great deal of science and
technology involved:
•
•
•
•
chemistry
microbiology
physics
mathematics
•
•
•
•
statistics
engineering
psychology
sociology
3. Use information to solve problems:
- great example in low-fat processed meats
a. reduce fat ---- rubbery, hard frankfurters
b. add water ---- purge
c. water binders ---- dilute
---- increased spoilage
d. flavoring agents
e. antimicrobial compounds
Beef Franks
-12
ingredients
Extra Lean
Franks
-18
ingredients
19 ingredients
- Another example is water-added
fresh meats(“moisture-enhanced”)
• Salt, phosphate, lactate, diacetate
• ~12% added water
Natural and Organic market share
• Growing rapidly
• Command premium prices
-sliced ham-water added (Jan, 2014)
(same manufacturer)
conventional - $3.99/lb.
natural - $4.99/lb. (+25.1%)
“Natural” (processed meats) definition:
• “…does not contain any artificial flavor or
flavoring, coloring ingredient, or chemical
preservative…” (USDA Food Standards
and Labeling Policy Book).
-thus, nitrate and nitrite are not allowed
• Currently under review-may be revised
Organic products…
• Governed by Organic Foods Production Act (1990)specific practices/substances
• Products and ingredients must be certified organic
(USDA) (95+%) and may use USDA organic seal
• Meat must produced using organic management and
from a certified farm
• Ingredients in processed foods must be organic also
(labels: “100% organic”, “organic” (95%) or “made
with organic ingredients” (at least 70%)
• Nitrate and nitrite are specifically prohibited
• Neither “natural” nor “organic”
-but still “uncured”…
These products are labeled “Uncured”…
…but they are actually cured! (contain
curing agents, nitrite and nitrate).
How is that possible?
Why is it done?
In the 1970s, nitrite was very controversial
and was nearly banned.
To allow processors to offer “typical”
products without nitrite, USDA approved
nitrite-free products but to make it clear that
these are very different, USDA required that
“Uncured” be added to the product name.
Now…processors have developed natural
sources of curing agents (primarily celery
concentrates) for natural products (no
preservatives allowed) but the old
“uncured” regulation also applies because
no curing agent is added.
IMHO, for consumers, this is confusing at
best and misleading at worst…
AND…these products are actually LESS safe
in terms of inhibiting bacterial pathogen
growth…
Clostridium botulinum-inoculation study
Time until botulism toxin was detected during vacuumpacked storage of inoculated frankfurters and ham at
various storage temperatures
Inoculated frankfurters
Products stored at: 22ºC/28 d.
10ºC/84 d.
4ºC/120 d.
natural cure
5 days
14 days
63 days
conventional cure 14 days
none/84 d. none/120 d.
natural cure
conventional cure
Inoculated hams
3 days
14 days none/120 d.
none/28 d.
none/84 d. none/120 d.
Salt is a 4-letter word…
• Human minimum dietary requirement is
about 100-200 mg/day (1 teaspoon of salt =
2, 300 mg sodium)
• Ave. consumption is 3,100+mg/day
• Previous recommendation was 2,300
mg/day maximum, new recommendation is
1,500 mg/day maximum
• 32% of Americans are hypertensive;
another 33% are pre-hypertensive
• Salt is essential in processed meats
- Safety has become a major concern
(“Safer” might be a better word choice.)
-has resulted in many changes to
assure safety
-Listeria, E. coli 0157:H7 and
allergens are major sources of
meat industry recalls (75 total
in 2013, 82 in 2012, 103 in 2011)
-making progress!
Example: new technology
i.e. antimicrobial ingredients, irradiation,
high pressure - “Fresher Under Pressure®”,
etc. for ready-to-eat (RTE) meats - Listeria
monocytogenes issue
-equipment cost
$500,000$2,000,000
-added product
cost is $0.04$0.10/lb.
-pressure
treatment = 600
MPa (87,000
psi)
The meat industry is making progress on
RTE product safety but fresh meats such as
ground beef (E. coli O157:H7) are still a
challenge.
– less opportunity to include inhibitory
treatments
– phage (viral predators) may offer a new
option, several approved for use
4. Jobs / Careers:
• meat as food
• maintain/improve quality, guarantee safety,
improve economics
• industry is moving toward continuous control
(Q.C., HACCP, etc.) from farms through to
consumption (idiot-proofing the process)
• understanding of protein functionality, spice
flavors, thermal process calculations,
packaging, laws and regulations, sanitation,
shelf life studies, human sensory panels
• develop new products!
• graduate degrees are an excellent preparation
– Ford Motor Co. is offering the Fiesta with bacon decals.
“Drive down the road in a piece of bacon!”
Iowa’s Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival
• All general admission tickets and tables to the 7th Annual Blue
Ribbon Bacon Festival – “Viva Las Bacon! What Happens at
Baconfest…” officially sold out on 12/12/13. 12,000 tickets
were snatched up in 42 minutes in the online only sale. Tickets
were purchased in 41 states, and from as far away as Brazil,
China, Denmark and Puerto Rico.
• Viva Las Bacon Wedding packages are available. Each
package includes general admission tickets to the
festival. These packages are available until 5:00 p.m. Friday,
January 3.
• The event which will be held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on
Saturday, February 1, 2014 will pay homage to Las Vegas and
one of its most famous bacon-lovers, Elvis Presley.
5. Become a more
intelligent consumer
Are you getting what you pay for (or
what you want)?
(Jan., 2014 prices)
• Frankfurters
Ballpark Beef Franks – $3.79/lb.
Oscar Mayer Angus Uncured Beef Franks - $3.99/lb.
(105%)
Applegate Beef Franks(organic) - $7.49/lb. (198%)
Vegetarian Franks - $5.59/lb. (147%)
Bar S Franks (chicken/pork), $1.59 - on sale - $0.99
(26%)
• Bacon
Hormel bacon - $4.99/lb.
Niman Natural (Uncured) - $6.88/lb. (138%)
Hormel Microwave-Ready Bacon - $8.65/lb. (173%)
Tyson Fully Cooked Bacon - $25.38/lb. (507%)
($3.49 per 2.2 oz. package)
• Ham
Ham with natural juices – $4.99/lb.
Ham – water added - $3.99/lb. (-20%)
Ham and water product - $2.79/lb. (-44%)
Applegate Natural (Uncured) - $10.95/lb. (219%)
Processed meats offer:
1. Variety
– flavor, color, shape, appearance
• more importantly ---- controlled variety,
especially from non-meat ingredients
2. Consumer preference / popularity
• In U.S. - 818 frankfurters are consumed
per second. This is 2,454,000 during our
50 minute class period.
3. Value added
• Upgrade low value fresh meat
– major difference between fresh meat industry
and processed meat industry.
Processed meats are products of
three things:
1. Raw meat materials
i.e. lean beef, fat pork,
mechanically deboned chicken
- highly variable in
composition and quality
2. Non-meat ingredients
i.e. salt, spices, nitrite, soy
proteins, smoke flavoring
- provides uniqueness,
controlled variety
3. Physical, mechanical “processes”
i.e. grinding, chopping, tumbling,
cooking, smoking, chilling
Notice - that these three
points are what comprise
(with more specific details)
your course syllabus
Raw meat materials concerns:
1. Quality - freshness
a. fat quality (rancidity) “a little goes a long way”
– common meat specifications is a maximum
TBA (thiobarbituric acid) number
– must consider unfrozen vs. frozen meat
b. microbiological
– screening for both total numbers and
specific organisms may be necessary
c. Color and bind values
– measures of performance to be expected
of a meat ingredient when used
2. Composition
• biggest problem is variability
• initial concern in processing is for
product formulation
• proximate composition for lean muscle
is fairly constant:
–
–
–
–
water
protein
fat
(ash
70%
20%
9%
1%)
however, range is extreme
Reasons why formulation control
is important:
1. Economics
– protein is expensive, fat is cheap,
water is free (almost)
2. Quality - as perceived by consumers
– fat and sugar sell products!
3. Regulations
Examples:
a. Fat content of frankfurters < 30% and sum
of added water plus fat
< 40% (added water is water content is
excess of 4P (4 x protein content))
b. Cured pork products - i.e. hams
PFF (protein fat free) content
label (name) is determined by
protein content on a fat-free basis
i.e.
> 20.5 % protein fat-free = “ham”
18.5 - 20.5 = “ham with natural juices”
17.0 - 18.5 = “ham - water added”
< 17.0 = “ham and water product __% is added ingredients”
c. Dried products
M:P ( moisture : protein ) ratios required for
product name
dried beef
2.04:1
dry salami
1.9:1
pepperoni
1.6:1
jerky
0.75:1
fresh, lean meat is about 3.7:1
Safety depends on available water
(Aw) values
4. Check on finished products
– yields
• economics
• indication of change in materials or
process
5. Competitors products
– especially useful in product
development
6. Evaluation of complaints,
returned products, problems,
failures