Food Safety Washing away risk Research focused on improving the safety of mechanically tenderized meat shows promise BY KIMBERLIE CLYMA kclyma@sosland.com N o one in the meat industry can try deliver safer meat to consumers. ization includes blade tenderization, afford to ignore food safety. Any One area of food-safety concern is which consists of a group of blades food-safety scare involving meat can when raw meat is mechanically tender- piercing a cut of meat. While this pro- mean lost sales but even worse – a loss ized. A number of foodservice com- cess improves tenderness, it can also of confidence in the meat industry as panies, chefs and even retailers use create a food-safety risk. If there are a whole. As a result, meat-industry mechanical tenderizing techniques any pathogens on the surface of the professionals including food-science in order to make cuts of meat more meat cut before tenderization, there researchers are working to develop tender and palatable to the consum- is a higher risk that the pathogen will more interventions to help the indus- er. One form of mechanical tender- be passed into the meat and with it a “It’s kind of like a brushless car wash for meat.” 38 • Meat&Poultry • April 2013 • www.MeatPoultry.comhttp://www.MeatPoultry.com