FST 305 FOOD PROCESSING

CHAPTER 3
MEAT PRODUCTS
 FST 305
CHAPTER 3
MEAT PRODUCTS

CHAPTER OUTCOMES

At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:-

1. identify and describe basic theoretical and practical aspects of

meat processing

2. state and recognise food processing techniques for selected meat

canning

3. identify and detect problems relating to meat products

 DEFINITION
 Meat are composed of a combination of water,
muscle, connective tissue, adipose tissue and often
bone.
 Meat can be defined as edible animal flesh,
including processed or manufactured products
derived from such tissue
 Including not only beef but also chicken and other
poultry, and such animal flesh as pork, lamb,
venison and others.
 PROCESSED MEAT
 Processed meat refers to a whole muscle product
that has been transformed into a manufactures
product by chemical, enzymatic, or mechanical
treatment.
 Meat is a perishable commodity.
 The need for meat preservation and the trend
toward urbanization are the main reasons for the
development of the processed meat industry.
Dutch cuts of beef

UK cuts of beef
Brazil cut

US cut
EXAMPLE OF RED MEAT PROCESSING
1) Canning
2) Chemical additives
Table: Classification of common red meats
3) Cold storage
Meat type Animal source
4) Comminution
Beef Cattle
5) Curing Lamb Young sheep
6) Drying Mutton >2 years old sheep
7) Fermentation Pork Hog

8) Irradiation Veal Calves

Venison Deer
9) Restructuring
10) Smoking
11) Vacuum packaging
 CANNING
 Involves sealing meat in a container and then
heating it to destroy all microorganisms capable of
food spoilage
 Requires processing of canned product in a retort
cooker (12 psi) to achieve the destruction of
bacterial spores at temp. exceeding the boiling point
of water
 CHEMICAL ADDITIVES
 Ingredients added to processed meat such as ascorbic acid, erythorbate,
Nitrate (NO3) and nitrite (NO2), phosphates, salt, spices, sugar and water.

Functions:
1) Ascorbic acid and erythorbate: to retain processed meat colour, act as
antioxidant
2) Nitrate: antioxidant that slows rancidity
3) Nitrite: inhibits spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms, contributes to
flavour, prevents warmed over flavour, stabilise colour
4) Phosphates: increase juiciness, inhibit rancidity, retain moisture,
solubilise proteins
5) Salt: flavour and tenderizes
6) Spices: inhibit bacteria growth, contribute to specific flavours
7) Sugar: binds to water, facilitates browning reactions, provides flavour, act
as substrate for fermentation
8) Water: provides calorie reduction (fat replacer), carries and distributes
dry ingredients, juiciness and tenderness
 COLD STORAGE
 Refers to refrigeration and frozen storage
 Refrigerated storage is the most common method of meat
preservation. Storage life for refrigerated storage is between
5-7 days at 3°C (inhibit pathogenic bacteria)
 Freezer storage (-18°C): excellent method of meat
preservation
 Although does not kill spoilage and pathogenic
microorganism it stops their growth and reproduction
 COMMINUTION
 Refers to size reduction
 Muscle tissue is chopped, diced, emulsified, ground
and transformed into minute particles for
incorporation into sausage.
 CURING
 Refers to addition of salt, sugar, and sodium nitrite
to meats for the purpose of colour development,
flavour enhancement, preservation and safety.
 DRYING
 Common method of meat preservation, removes
moisture so that microorganism cannot grow
 FERMENTATION
 Fermentative bacteria added into meat to produce
acids.
 These acids contribute to flavour and also decrease
the pH of the meat, inhibiting the unwanted
microorganisms. (Eg, Budu, belacan, Cencalok,
Pekasam)
 IRRADIATION
 A pasteurization method accomplished by exposing
meat to low and medium doses of radiation
generated by electron accelerators or by exposure to
gamma sources.
 RESTRUCTURING
 Flaked or ground beef or pork can be reformed into
loaves or portions resembling steaks through the
process of restructuring
 Eg: smoked sliced beef and boneless hams
 SMOKING
 Smoking for imparting desirable smoked appearance
and flavour characteristics to ham, turkey and other
meats
 VACUUM PACKAGING
 Vacuum packed to inhibit spoilage microorganism
which are aerobic (spoilage organism common to
meat)
 TYPES OF MEAT PRODUCTS
 Can be categorised into 6 groups.
 Based on the processing technologies used and treatment of
raw materials and the individual processing steps.
 RAW-COOKED MEAT PRODUCTS
 The product components muscle meat, fat and non-meat ingredients
which are processed raw, i.e. uncooked by comminuting and mixing.
 The resulting viscous mix/batter is portioned in sausages or otherwise
and thereafter submitted to heat treatment, i.e. “cooked”.
 The heat treatment induces protein coagulation which results in a typical
firm-elastic texture for raw-cooked products (Figures).
 In addition to the typical texture the desired palatability and a certain
degree of bacterial stability is achieved.

Hotdogs Sausages and meat loaf of the raw-cooked

type
 PRECOOKED-COOKED MEAT
PRODUCTS
 Precooked-cooked meat products contain mixes of lower-grade muscle
trimmings, fatty tissues, head meat, animal feet, animal skin, blood, liver
and other edible slaughter by-products.
 There are two heat treatment procedures involved in the manufacture of
precooked-cooked products. The first heat treatment is the precooking of
raw meat material. The second heat treatment the cooking of the
finished product mix at the end of the processing stage.
 Distinguished from the other categories of processed meat products by
precooking the raw materials prior to grinding or chopping, but also by
utilizing the greatest variety of meat, animal by-product and non-meat
ingredients.

Blood sausage Liver pate Corned beef in can

CANNING OF MEAT
 CANNING OF MEAT
Selection of raw Preparation (eg
Cooking of raw mat.
materials cutting, dicing)

Seaming Exhausting Hot fill method

Processing/ Storage and

Cooling
Sterilization labelling
 PRINCIPLES OF FOOD CANNING
 Aim of sterilization: destruction of all contaminating bacteria
including their spores.
 Heat treatment of such products must be intensive enough to
inactivate/kill the most heat resistant bacterial/
microorganisms, which are the spores of Bacillus and
Clostridium.
 In practice, the meat products filled in sealed containers are
exposed to temperatures above 100°C in pressure cookers.
 Temperatures above 100°C, usually ranging from 110-121°C
depending on the type of product, must be reached inside
the product.
 Products are kept for a defined period of time at temperature
levels required for the sterilization, depending on type of
product and size of container.
 If spores are not completely inactivated in canned goods,
vegetative microorganisms will grow from the spores as soon
as conditions are favourable again.
 In the case of heat treated processed meat, favourable
conditions will exist when the heat treatment is completed
and the products are stored under ambient temperatures.
 The surviving microorganisms can either spoil preserved
meat products or produce toxins which cause food poisoning
of consumers.
 Amongst the two groups of spore producing microorganisms
Clostridium is more heat resistant than Bacillus.
 110°C will kill most Bacillus spores within a short time.
 121°C are needed to kill the Clostridium spores within a
relatively short time.
 The above sterilization temperatures are needed for short-
term inactivation (within a few seconds) of spores of Bacillus
or Clostridium.
 These spores can also be killed at slightly lower
temperatures, but longer heat treatment periods must be
applied in such cases to arrive at the same summary effect of
heat treatment.
 EXHAUSTING
 Objective of exhausting containers is to remove air so that
the pressure inside the container following heat treatment
and cooling will be less than atmospheric.
 The reduced internal pressure (vacuum) helps to keep the can
ends drawn in, reduces strain on the containers during
processing, and minimizes the level of oxygen remaining in
the headspace.
 It also helps to extend the shelf life of food products and
prevents bulging of the container at high altitudes.
 Vacuum in the can may be obtained by the use of heat or by
mechanical means.
 Products may be preheated before filling and sealed hot.
 HOT FILL METHOD
 Hot-fill-hold processing involves filling the product
hot, sealing the container, then holding filled
containers for a period of time at or above a certain
temperature before cooling.
 Acidified products may also be processed in a
pasteurizer, atmospheric cooker or retort for a given
period of time to destroy the target microorganisms
 SEALING
 In sealing lids on metal cans, a double seam is
created by interlocking the curl of the lid and flange
of the can.
 Many closing machines are equipped to create
vacuum in the headspace either mechanically or by
steam-flow before lids are sealed.
 HEAT STERILIZATION
 During processing, microorganisms that can cause
spoilage are destroyed by heat.
 The temperature and processing time vary with the
nature of the product and the size of the container.
 Effective combination commonly used for small
consumer sized products (4-8 oz) is 3 minutes at
121°C
 Acidic products, such as tomatoes, are readily
preserved at 100°C
 The containers holding these products are processed
in atmospheric steam or hot-water cookers.
 COOLING
 After heat sterilization, containers are quickly cooled
to prevent overcooking.
 Containers maybe quick cooled by adding water to
the cooker under air pressure or by conveying the
containers from the cooker to a rotary cooler
equipped with a cold-water spray.
 LABELING AND CASING
 After the heat sterilization, cooling, and drying
operations, the containers are ready for labeling.
 Labeling machines apply glue and labels in one high-
speed operation. The labeled cans or jars are the
packed into shipping cartons
TO BE CONTINUED….
PRODUCTION OF SAUSAGE
Process flow for production of sausage
Chopping

Grinding

Mixing

Emulsifying

Stuffing

Linking and tying

Smoking and cooking

Chilling

Packaging
 SAUSAGE INGREDIENTS
 Raw materials depends on two factors:
1. Classical raw-cooked product
a) Products of relatively high quality and good nutritional value as they
contain meat and fat as the main components and water as the
major non-meat ingredient.
b) Ingredients of plant origin, used in small quantities and do not serve
as an extender but as binders, e.g. soy isolate (approx. 2% added)
2. Extended raw-cooked meat products
a) inferior quality as they contain higher quantities of extenders and
fillers of plant origin
b) contain higher amounts of low-cost non-meat ingredients mostly of
plant origin for cost-reduction
c) Examples are hotdogs and luncheon meat
1) Meat
 Lean meat is the principle raw material for classical raw-cooked meat
products.
 It provides the muscle proteins, which play an important role in the
processing technology of raw-cooked products.
 The lean meat component comprises mainly chilled beef and/or pork, but
also poultry meat (turkey, chicken) is becoming increasingly popular for
this purpose.
 Other meats like mutton and venison are less suitable and not commonly
used. The same applies to muscular slaughter by-products such as heart,
diaphragm and oesophagus.
 Lean meat is used in quantities of 30-50% referred to the overall amount
of batter for raw-cooked products
 The lean meat should have a relatively high pH, preferably in the range of
5.7-5.9, as such meat has a better water binding (also called water
holding) capacity (WBC/WHC)
 Good WBC is important to bind the amount of up to 30% of water, which
is usually added to the batter to improve texture and palatability of the
final products.
 Moreover, the lean meat itself has a water content of 70%, which also
must be kept bound.
 The binding of all this water must remain stable in the sausage mix also
during heat treatment, which is the hardest challenge for the water
retention capacity.
 Low WBC results in loss of liquid during cooking visible as an
accumulation of jelly under the sausage casing, inside cans etc.

Canned product with separation of jelly and fat

2) Fat
 Fat, mainly chilled pork fat, but also chicken, beef or lamb fat
or vegetable oil, is used in quantities of 15-30%. fat content in
the final product should not exceed 25%, as otherwise the
shrinkage by melting fat during frying or cooking would be
high
 Not all animal fats are suitable for this purpose, as some
would make the batter too “grainy” (kidney fat) and others
too soft (intestinal fat).
 Back, belly (pork), skin (poultry) and to some extend
intermuscular fat (beef) are suitable.
 Function of fat-make products softer and more palatable and
support desirable flavour.
 In order to achieve a good quality product with typical taste
and texture, preferably fresh chilled fats should be used
 Fats from long cold storage, in particular frozen fats, are less
suitable, as they tend to become rancid. Fats should be free
of hard connective tissue.
 The chilled fats are pre-minced (3mm grinder plate) for good
immediate distribution in the batter.
 If vegetable oil is used instead of animal fats, this oil should
be chilled but must remain liquid or viscous.
3) Water
 Water is added in quantities of approximately 15-35%.
 It makes products juicy and easily chewable.
 Water is not primarily used as “filler” in raw/cooked meat
products. It is absolutely necessary as a carrier and solvent for
the muscle proteins.
 Water together with salt and phosphates, which enforce the
process, is indispensable for the desired extraction and water
binding of the muscle proteins
 As the protein extraction is best under low temperatures,
water is often added frozen as ice to keep the temperature of
the meat batter low.
 Low temperatures are also needed to avoid excessive rise of
temperature in the area close to the fast rotating bowl
chopper knives.
 Excessive temperatures there would spoil the ability of
affected proteins in water binding and gelation.
 For quick and even distribution (in order to achieve an instant
cooling effect in all parts of the chopping bowl), small-size ice
flakes should be used or ice blocks should be crushed into
small pieces before being added to the batter.
4) Additives
 Additives and spices (salt, phosphates, ascorbic acid, various
ground spices) are used in dry-powder form and must be
stored in a cool and dry place in closed containers and
frequently checked for impurities.
 Used in smaller quantities and need to be accurately weighed
to avoid under or over dosage.
 Salt and/or nitrite curing salt serve for salty flavour, solution
of muscle proteins and curing colour. Approximately 2% is
normally applied
 Phosphates assist in solubilizing muscle proteins.
Approximately 0.3% is normally used
 Ascorbic acid acts as a catalyst in the curing process.
Approximately 0.05 – 0.1% is normally used
 ADDITIONAL MEASURES FOR PROPER
COHESIVENESS AND WATER BINDING
 The protein network in the final batter will be the more
complete and functional as more meat protein is used in the
mixture.
 To further facilitate the formation of the protein network,
where the meat content is low, the following measures can be
taken:
a) Addition of small amounts of proteins (approx. 2% of dry
substance) mainly originating from soy beans (isolated soy
protein, ISP), Texturised Vegetable Protein (TVP) or derived
from milk (milk protein, caseinate) or blood (plasma protein)
can be added.
b) They increase the amount of available proteins resulting in
more comprehensive protein network structures
 STUFFING
 The mixture is usually stuffed into thin or
medium size calibre natural casings of the
“edible” type
 Originally, derived from the small intestines of
pigs or sheep, are either freshly prepared from
local slaughter, or salted and stored until used.
 Need to be rinsed with sufficient quantity of
clean water prior used for stuffing
 The casings are filled almost to their maximum Figure: Air pockets caused by
loose stuffing. Discoloration
capacity and thereafter divided into shorter caused by enclosed air.
Above right tightly stuffed, no
units of the desired size by linking and twisting discoloration

 Replaced by edible collagen casings or cellulose

casings of similar diameter. This allows for
better standardisation of sausages and larger
volumes of production
 STORAGE AND PREPARATION
FOR CONSUMPTION
 Fresh sausages are highly perishable products and subject to fast
microbial spoilage and oxidative rancidity.
 Should be heat-treated and consumed as soon as possible after
production, or must be stored immediately under refrigeration.
 Maximum storage life is normally three days at +4°C or below. If
deep-frozen at -18°C, the storage life can be extended up to
three months.
 One difficulty associated with frozen storage is the oxidative
rancidity. Storage in vacuum bags can prevent the fast onset of
rancidity.
 PRINCIPLES OF SAUSAGE
MANUFACTURING
1) Extract and dissolve solid muscle proteins through physical
(chopping) and chemical (salting) treatment of lean meat and
blending with water

Fig: Condition after dry chopping. Muscle
fibre fragments (red) and connective
tissue particles (green) present in mix
Fig.: Condition after adding salt and water. Most
muscle fibre fragments swell through water
incorporation (blue) and become gelatinous or
solubilized (b), some muscle fibre fragments (a)
and connective tissue particles (green) remain
unchanged. Water droplets may also be loosely
bound between the fragments (blue) (c)
2. Establish a network structure of liquid or gelatinous muscle
proteins in the meat batter capable of surrounding and
enclosing small particles of fat and binding water.

Fig: Condition after comminuting and addition of fat. Network structure of gelatinous (b)
or liquid (d) muscle fibre proteins (dark red areas) established, fat particles (yellow)
coated by protein (bright red). Connective tissue (green) and some muscle fibre
fragments (a) unchanged. Water droplets (blue, c) incorporated in protein network
3. Stabilise the muscle protein network through heat coagulation
by “cooking”. Core temperature of products should be not lower
than 70°-72°C.

Fig.: Condition after heat treatment: Protein network structure becomes rigid and
firm elastic (purple areas) through protein coagulation/denaturation. Connective
tissue particles (green) swell in size and become softer, may interlink (arrows) if large
amounts present
4. Cool products down through immersion in cold water or cold
water spray immediately after cooking, pass quickly
temperature range from +40°C - +20°C, store in refrigerated
rooms

Fig.: Cooling in ice water (+5°C) of sausages of different calibre (20 mm, 40 mm, 75 mm).
Decrease in core temperature depends on calibre of sausage and temperature of cooling
water
 For phase 1 and 2 of the manufacture of raw-cooked products it
is essential that only raw (uncooked) lean meat and fat are used,
as pre-cooked materials would not produce the necessary effects
of protein solution, protein network building and increased
binding of water.
 Protein solution and network building as shown in Fig is achieved
through a combination of effects:
a) Mechanical cutting/chopping/comminuting of the muscle
tissue resulting in the release and extraction of muscle
proteins out of the muscle cells.
b) Solution of part of the released previously solid muscle
proteins in the water/salt mix added.
 At phase 3 the necessary heat treatment is applied. Through
adequate heat treatment of the batter filled in sausage casings,
cans, or portioned otherwise (e.g. meat loaves, meat balls), the
heat coagulation of the liquid or gelatinous proteins in the
viscous batter is effected forming a firm cross-linked network
structure.
 This results in a rigid firm-elastic texture of the final product.
 For the above reasons the term “raw-cooked” is used for this
type of products as in the first phase “raw” processing and in the
second phase “cooked” processing is taking place.
 CURED MEAT CUTS
 Cured meat cuts are made of entire pieces of muscle meat and
can be sub-divided into two groups, cured-raw meats and cured-
cooked meats
 The curing for both groups, cured-raw and cured-cooked is
similar as the meat pieces are treated with small amounts of
nitrite, either as dry salt or as salt solution in water.
 The difference between the two groups of cured meats is:
a) Cured-raw meats do not undergo any heat treatment during their
manufacture.
b) They undergo a processing period, which comprises curing,
fermentation and ripening in controlled climatized conditions,
which makes the products palatable.
c) The products are consumed raw/uncooked.
d) Cured-cooked meats, after the curing process of the raw muscle
meat, always undergo heat treatment to achieve the desired
palatability.

Cured-raw ham Cure cooked product

 FRESH PROCESSED MEAT PRODUCTS
 These products are meat mixes composed of comminuted
muscle meat with varying quantities of animal fat.
 Products are salted only, curing is not practiced.
 Non-meat ingredients are added in smaller quantities for
improvement of flavour and binding, in low-cost versions larger
quantities are added for volume extension.
 All meat and non-meat ingredients are added fresh (raw).
 Heat treatment (frying, cooking) is applied immediately prior to
consumption to make the products palatable.
 If the fresh meat mixes are filled in casings, they are defined as
sausages (e.g. frying sausages). If other portioning is customary,
the products are known as patties, kebab, etc.
 Convenience products, such as chicken nuggets have a similar
processing technology and can also be included in this group.
 In contrast to the rest of the group, chicken nuggets etc. are
already fried in oil at the manufacturing stage during the last
step of production

Fresh raw beef Fried fresh Chicken nuggets

patties sausages and beef
 RAW-FERMENTED SAUSAGES
 Raw-fermented sausages are uncooked meat
products and consist of more or less coarse
mixtures of lean meats and fatty tissues combined
with salts, nitrite (curing agent), sugars and spices
and other non-meat ingredients filled into casings.
 They receive their characteristic properties
(flavour, firm texture, red curing colour) through
fermentation processes. Raw fermented
sausage
 Shorter or longer ripening phases combined with
moisture reduction (“drying”) are necessary to
build-up the typical flavour and texture of the final
product.
 The products are not subjected to any heat
treatment during processing and are in most cases
distributed and consumed raw
 DRIED MEAT PRODUCTS
 Dried meat products are the result of the simple dehydration or
drying of lean meat in natural conditions or in an artificially
created environment
 Their processing is based on the experience that dehydrated
meat, from which a substantial part of the natural tissue fluid was
evaporated, will not easily spoil.
 Pieces of lean meat without adherent fat are cut to a specific
uniform shape that permits the gradual and equal drying of
whole batches of meat.

Meat floss
 Dried meat is not comparable to fresh meat in terms of shape
and sensory and processing properties, but has significantly
longer shelf-life.
 Many of the nutritional properties of meat, in particular the
protein content, remain unchanged through drying.

Beef jerky
 PAUSE TO PONDER…
1. Please identify and describe basic theoretical and practical aspects of meat
processing.

2. Can you state and recognise food processing techniques for selected meat
canning.

3. Please identify and detect problems relating to meat products.

END OF CHAPTER 3
MEAT PRODUCTS