NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Consistently packaged meat prepared in a factory may be the beef industry’s future, but the system is not perfect.
About 20 percent of the retail beef supply in the United States is case-ready, but flavour and storage remains a problem.
“The product looks pretty good and is a bright cherry red, but actually in some cases it tastes the way a wet dog smells,” said meat researcher Brad Morgan of Oklahoma State University.
“That’s oxidation,” he added, during a press conference held at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention in Nashville.
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Ground beef is especially troublesome.
There are about a dozen case-ready packaging systems in use, some using modified atmosphere packaging.
Case ready provides a fresh product that is consistently cut, packaged and labelled. The meat is red and no juice leaks from the side or bottom of the tray.
The most widely used system involves embedding a mixture of 80 percent oxygen and 20 percent carbon dioxide into the package, which is then sealed with a plastic film. Oxygen extends the time meat remains red while the carbon dioxide delays bacterial development while it remains sealed.
Modified atmosphere extends shelf life of most red meat cuts by an additional seven to 12 days.
Meat enhancement is also commonly used in the case-ready business. Processors pump or enhance the meat with water, salts and rosemary oil to make average grades of meat more tender and moist.
Rosemary is an antioxidant and helps prevent fresh meat from turning brown. It is acceptable to consumers because it is a natural flavour, but is expensive at $32-$38 US a pound. Also, it is not working as well as processors hoped, because they find many people do not like the rosemary flavour.
As well, retailers are still throwing away $1 billion worth of beef each year because of oxidation problems.
Until a few years ago, retailers ground up discoloured steak, but this is no longer common practice. Fewer retailers have grinders in their meat departments, and they are not allowed to turn meat into hamburger if it has been enhanced.
