The meat processing business is a multifaceted industry that ensures the taste, texture, and safety of meat products consumed globally. One of the significant challenges in meat processing is maintaining the moisture, texture, and overall quality of the meat. This is where meat phosphates come into play.
Challenges while Meat Processing
In meat processing, the primary challenge is to preserve the juiciness, tenderness, and overall appeal of the meat. As meats are processed, they tend to lose moisture, leading to a decline in their palatability and shelf life. Additionally, there’s a need to control the pH, which affects the color and taste of the final meat product. Fluctuations in pH levels can also alter the binding properties of meat, thus impacting its texture and making it less appealing to consumers.
Adding phosphate to meat can effectively address these challenges. But, which phosphate should one choose?
What are the Common Meat Phosphates that Work on Meat?
Several phosphates work well with meats, each having its unique properties and applications. The choice of phosphate largely depends on the final meat product’s properties and requirements.
- Sodium Tripolyphosphate (STPP): A widely-used phosphate, STPP helps in moisture retention and improves the texture of processed meat products.
- Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (SAPP): Ideal for controlling pH levels, SAPP can also act as a leavening agent in some meat products.
- Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate (TSPP): Another phosphate that aids in moisture retention, TSPP also enhances the binding properties of meat products, making them firmer.
- Monosodium Phosphate (MSP): Commonly used in canned meats, MSP ensures that the product retains its color and texture during its shelf life.
While these meat phosphates have their applications, the trend is shifting towards a more versatile solution – blended phosphates.
The Almighty Ones: Blended Phosphate
Blended phosphates are a combination of two or more phosphates, designed to harness the strengths of individual phosphates. This synergy ensures that meats to maximize the yield of the finished product, increase the juiciness of the product and decrease losses, improve texture and consistency, reduce the potential for food rancidity and unwanted color changes, improve the stability of microorganisms and stabilize pH, has an antiseptic effect.
For instance, blending STPP with SAPP can offer both moisture retention and pH control. Similarly, blending TSPP with MSP can enhance both the binding properties and the color preservation of the meat product. These blends are tailored to meet the specific requirements of different meat products, ensuring their optimum quality.
Our meat blended phosphate is capable of:
- Improve the appearance and maintain the nutritional value of meat products such as vitamins and minerals.
- Maintain or increase the weight of the meat product, due to its ability to maintain water content.
- Reduce cooking losses, thawing losses, and packing allowances so as to increase profits.
- Inhibits the development of microbes ( bacteriostatic ) thereby increasing the shelf life of the meat product.
- Produces a soft and chewy meat texture with a taste and juiciness that remains natural after the cooking process.
- Prevents the occurrence of rancidity and unwanted color degradation.
The Benefit of Meat Blended Phosphate
There are several benefits to using blended phosphates in meat processing:
Versatility: Meat blended phosphates can be custom-designed to meet the unique requirements of different meat products. Whether it’s moisture retention for sausages or pH control for hams, blended phosphates can do it all.
Cost-Effective: By using meat blended phosphates, meat processors can achieve multiple objectives with a single additive, thus reducing the overall cost.
Consistency: Meat blended phosphates ensure a consistent quality across batches. This means that consumers get the same taste, texture, and quality every time they buy a meat product.
Safety: By controlling pH levels and improving moisture retention, meat blended phosphates can also enhance the safety of meat products, reducing the risk of microbial contamination.
Overall, while individual phosphates have their strengths, blended phosphates offer a comprehensive solution to the challenges faced in meat processing. Choosing the right meat phosphate depends on the final result of meat product you wish to produce.
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