Text 4. Product inspection

Each step in the making of processed meat products is under the continuous scrutiny of food inspectors. Examples of such products are sausages, canned meat products, cured and smoked meats, and edible fats. Inspections are made of all the details in the manufacturing processes, to make sure they are carried out in compliance with accepted and approved regulations. Only ap­proved ingredients are permitted for use in processed meat products. The regulations also control the amounts of certain ingredients that are allowed in the product, and the processing procedures used in making the product. The processor, as well as the inspector, must be thoroughly familiar with and abide by all published regulations governing the manufacturing, storage, and handling of processed meat products. This supervision guards against the adulteration, contamination, and mis­representation of meat products before they enter the distribution channel to the consumer.

Reinspection is performed in operations such as cutting, boning, trim­ming, curing, smoking, rendering, canning, sausage manufacturing, packaging, handling, or storing of meats. All products, whether fresh, cured, or otherwise prepared, even though previously inspected and passed, are reinspected as often as necessary in order to determine whether they are still wholesome and fit for human food at the time they leave the plant where the inspection is performed. If the item is found to be unfit for human food upon reinspection, the original inspection mark is removed or defaced and the item is condemned.

Any meat item must have been previously inspected by a meat inspector, and must also bear the neces­sary inspection mark or label. Upon entry into an official establishment, meat items are identified and reinspected. If this reinspection shows that an item is unwholesome, or unfit for human food, the original inspection stamp or label is removed or defaced, and the item is condemned.

Laboratory inspection. Samples of ingredients used in the manufacture or processing of products are submitted to the laboratories for analysis. Likewise, samples of finished products are submitted by inspectors for analysis, to determine whether a particular product is in compliance with the specific regula­tions governing its production. Products or tissues that are suspected of containing nonapproved ingredients or drug residues are also submitted to the laboratories for analysis. Pathology laboratories also assist in the diagnosis of diseased and abnormal tissues sent to them by inspectors.

Text 5. Marking and Labeling of Products

The brands and labels that are applied to carcasses, wholesale cuts, processed meats, edible meat by-products, and containers holding meat must be controlled. The inspection legend is applied under the supervision of a meat inspector. No edible product can be legally re­moved from an official establishment without being marked or labeled in accordance with the regulations.

The inspection legend appears on the label of prepared meat products. In addition to the inspection legend, the label must contain the common or usual name of the product, the name and address of the processor or distributor, and a correct statement of the ingredients used. An in­spected plant is permitted to use only those labels and markings that have been previously approved. Any picture that is used on the label must truly represent the product, and must not convey any false impression of its origin or quality. The label on the product must convey to consumers exactly what they are buying. Any meat products originating from state inspected plants must also bear approved labels. Label requirements are essentially the same as for federally inspected plants, except that the state inspection legend replaces the federal inspection labels.

Text 6. Formulation

Many different ingredients are incorporated into processed meat prod­ucts including meat, curing mixtures, seasonings, binders and fillers, and water. In the preparation of a particular product, the manufacturer is not restricted to a set recipe. The specific ingredients and their amounts can be varied to arrive at the desired product. In the process of formulation, the meat processor selects the ingredients that are to be included, and the amounts that will be used. The first goal of a formulation is to produce products of uniform appearance, com­position, taste, and physical properties from batch to batch, day to day, week to week, and month to month.

Successful formulation depends upon the availability of accurate information about the properties and composition of the potential raw materials that may be included in the product. For example, meat ingredients vary in composition, color, and chemical and physical properties. Spices vary in purity and strength. The amount of binders and fillers that can be included is restricted by meat inspection regulations, as are the water and fat content. The second goal of a formulation is to produce a product which meets the present quality standards concerning the cost of raw materials.

Because of fluctu­ations in the cost of the various meat ingredients, it is often economically desirable to partially or completely substitute one ingredient for another. The process of formulation must determine to what extent substitutions can be made, and when it would be best, in terms of economics, to do so. Linear programming procedures for cost formulation are widely used in the meat industry to help accomplish these goals.

A basic requirement for producing uniform processed meat products is the proper selection of meat ingredients. Animal tissues vary widely in moisture, protein and fat content, in pigmentation, and in ability to bind water and fat. In addition to skeletal muscle meat, by-product (variety) meat of nonskeletal muscle origin is a potential sausage ingredient, and is often used in cooked sausages. Not all sausages contain variety meat but those that do, have an equivalent, and frequently a superior, nutritional value to those con­taining only skeletal meat. Also, the use of by-products reduces formu­lation and finished product costs, compared to products containing only skeletal muscle meat. Cooked sausages containing these meat ingredients be clearly labeled; for example, "Frankfurters with By-products."

In the meat processing industry, the terms bind or binding refer to the water retention capabilities of lean meat, or to the surface cohesion of meat chunks to each other. In sausage emulsions, the term bind includes both water retention and the ability to emulsify fat. Some meat ingredi­ents have a very high binding capacity, and others are inferior. Thus, meat raw materials can be (and are) classified by their binding capacity.

A newer meat ingredient for emulsions is machine deboned poultry meat. The com­position and binding ability of this product depends upon the particular parts of the carcass that are used. For example, meat from necks and backs contains a high proportion of connective tissue and fat from the skin. On an equal weight basis, deboned poultry meat usually ranks slightly below cow meat in fat emulsifying ability. Proteins originating from the meat ingredients are responsible for water binding and fat emulsification.

Fat is an important constituent of processed meat products, and makes a large contribution to their palatability. Fat content affects the tender­ness and juiciness of sausages. It also serves as the dispersed phase in meat emulsions. The fat content of meat ingredients varies more widely than does the moisture/protein ratio, and depends primarily upon the type of cut or trimmings as well as on the carcass grade. Since meat inspection regulations limit fat content to a maximum of 30 percent in cooked sausages, knowledge of fat content in meat ingredients is im­portant.