Meat+Poultry - March 2022 - 60

INGREDIENT ISSUES
INGREDIENT ISSUES
With ready-to-eat
meats being at high risk
for pathogens, highpressure
processing (HPP)
and sous vide cooking
are technologies that
can help extend the
product's shelf life.
preservation. Corbion's vinegar and cultured
sugar ingredients provide a natural, highly
effective alternative to these chemicals. Newer
vegetable ferments are being developed
and tested in order to offer processors
more options.
Renetta Cooper, food protection and
preservation business development director,
Kerry, Beloit, Wis., shared a recent customer
example regarding ready-to-eat chicken that
needed to be kept safe in a prepared graband-go
salad.
" Historically the product would've been
frozen with no preservation solution added, "
Cooper said. " However, a preservation solution
was added to provide additional protective
hurdles and peace of mind for the customer.
This preservation solution also added in an
extra layer of protection and supply chain
resilience that is very welcome during a
time where any food safety recall can be
extremely costly.
" In this application, we could have applied
either buffered vinegar or a potassium acetate/
potassium diacetate blend to achieve the
desired level of food protection, " Cooper said.
" The advantage of using buffered vinegar is
that it supports clean-label initiatives. "
Buffered vinegar comes in liquid, dry,
organic and no-sodium formats. This makes it
easy to add to brines, marinades, spice blends
or even directly onto meat.
" Propionic acid-based food safety
solutions for ready-to-eat meat and poultry
products may be used as alternatives to
lactate/diacetate blends, " Cropp said. " They
contribute less sodium and reduce cost-in-use
for manufacturers. The usage rate of propionic
is also usually around three times less to be
equivalent to lactate/diacetate blends. "
60 MEAT+POULTRY | 03.22 | www.meatpoultry.com
While high-pressure processing (HPP)
and sous vide cooking are technologies that
help manufacturers extend the shelf life of
ready-to-eat meats without using artificial
ingredients, natural preservatives are often
included in order to maintain safety and quality
once the package is opened and stored in
the refrigerator. This is particularly true with
all-natural luncheon meats, where HPP has
become quite popular. HPP even allows for a
reduction in sodium, a natural preservative,
allowing for claims such as " no artificial
preservatives " and " less sodium. "
Corbion conducted research in 2016 that
combined HPP with traditional and natural
preservatives. When preservatives were
included, the study showed that HPP time and
pressure could be reduced, which improves the
speed of process and reduces wear and tear on
the HPP equipment.
" It is very important to note that
antimicrobial ingredient addition is a major
tool and cannot be overlooked in food product
development, " Joseph said.
Cooper said, " Ingredient systems
featuring a building-block approach are a way
forward to enhance food safety in the event
of a contamination. An integrated systems
approach gives the processor added confidence
that they have covered all of their bases with
an approach across multiple hurdles and/or
modes of action. "
Unlike food quality - everything from
appearance to flavor to texture - food safety is
an expectation rather than an added benefit.
" Proper food safety systems provide the
foundation for trust between food production
and the consumer, " Cropp concluded. " The
expectation of safety is vital for brand integrity
and company longevity. "
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Meat+Poultry - March 2022

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