How to tell if meat has been "enhanced?"

[otto]

I know I read something about checking sodium levels but I don't remember what I read. I finally found some fresh duck at the grocery store, but couldn't make up my mind if anything had been added to it. The frozen duck clearly stated "up to 12 % (something) solution" so I knew for sure not to buy it, but the fresh didn't say. I looked at the sodium levels on the fresh and I wanted to compare with the frozen, but some idiot had stuck the price labels over the nutritional info.

So I didn't buy it.

It didn't SAY on the fresh duck that anything was added, but I couldn't make up my mind for sure.

I was so happy to have found some fresh duck for Mazy cat! Then left empty handed because I didn't know if it was okay. Who knows when they will have it again. Phooey.

 

[catspaw66]

I believe if it is enhanced, it must state so on the label in plain sight.  As for the price stickers over the nutritional data, you should have complained to the manager.  It probably wouldn't do much good, but it would put them on notice that people are watching them.

 

[otto]

In a perfect world, if the meat is enhanced, there would be clear easy to notice labeling. That has not been my experience, and I have had to return meat before. I prefer to go by the nutrition label, so I want to know what to look for, under sodium, since I read here something about it before but don't remember where or when.

The sodium on the label seemed high to me, but I wasn't sure and didn't have time to dither, at that particular moment.

The frozen duck labeling was frustrating, and I did, later, fill out a complaint form on the store's website. I believe the duck came to the store with the labels already on, so the issue would not be considered a store level problem.

(edit) Well I just found a site that allows me to type in the kind of meat, and the values come up. Didn't think of that before. Seems duck is a bit higher in sodium compared to chicken, which explains my confusion. Now I just have to wait for the store to have fresh duck again. Sigh.

 

[sevenwonders]

I believe if it is enhanced, it must state so on the label in plain sight. 

If that is the case, it is clearly a step in the right direction.

Now, if we can just get them to disclose when meat contains Pink Slime or Meat Glue.

Even more, I hope I live to see the day when they require labeling

of Genetically Modified ingredients. I mean really, shouldn't we have enough info

to DECIDE for ourselves if we want to eat corn or soy that has Pesticide DNA in it?

Maybe someday, the USA will act like the majority of other industrialized nations -

Japan, most of Europe and even Mexico now require labeling of GM ingredients.

Too bad the US Govt requires its Citizens to be Monsanto's Guinea Pigs.  

 

[sevenwonders]

... Well I just found a site that allows me to type in the kind of meat, and the values come up.

Otto, do you happen to have a link or the name of the site?

Thanks! 

 

[auntie crazy]

Actually, no, companies don't have to state the meat has been injected with extra water or a salt/spice mix. At least, not yet. Last July, the USDA finally decided the public has a right to this information, however, the legislation is unlikely to be effective until 2014 or later.

And you're right to be concerned, Otto. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), 30% of the poultry, 15% of the beef and 90% of the pork sold in the US contains an added solution. Shockingly, poultry and meat products can be up to 40% solution by weight; a huge percentage when considering these products are sold by the pound. The Center for Science in the Public Interest states that sodium and water-injected poultry and meats can have more than five times as much sodium as occurs naturally in those foods.

You can look for adjectives like ‘injected’, ‘added flavor’, ‘more tender’, ‘seasoned’, and ‘juicier’ - all indications that a broth or some type of solution – most often sodium and water – has been added to the meat.

But the easiest way to tell is to check the "Nutrition Facts" on the label. If the product contains more than 100 mgs of Sodium per serving, it's been injected with something. (“Enhanced” meats; more common than you might think.)

AC

 

[harleydiva]

Showing my ignorance.....what is [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Pink Slime or Meat Glue.??[/color]

 

[sevenwonders]

Showing my ignorance.....what is Pink Slime or Meat Glue.??

"Ignorance" sounds so negative.

In this case however, millions of us are technically ignorant of many facts that our Government

(along with Monsanto, Dow, and a few other major "Revolving Door" companies)

simply do not want us to become aware of. Fortunately, the information is leaking out little by little,

and hopefully people will become more and more aware as time goes by.

You can find more info via a web search, but basically...

Meat Glue is an enzyme called transglutaminase.

It is made from either animal blood or fermented bacteria.

It is used to "glue" scraps of meat together to make them appear to be regular cuts.

It is common in lunch meats, grocery store meats, and meats found in restaurants.

It "can" be used to form cuts that appear to be expensive such as Fillet Mignon -

from less expensive cuts such as Round or even Stew meat.

Perhaps the biggest problem with it is that it can prevent the areas where the meat

is glued from reaching temperatures that kill the bacteria,

particularly when the meat is cooked to "medium" or less.

Pink Slime is basically scraps of meat that would otherwise be rendered

that are instead treated directly with ammonia, heated and compressed

to form a paste that is then added to ground meats (all types)

to increase profits for the manufacturers and retailers.

It is very common in grocery store meats and processed burgers,

as well as chicken nuggets.

For more fun food facts, check out these articles:

http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/7-gross-things-your-food

9 Nastiest things in your food:

http://www.rodale.com/pink-slime

For the truly brave only, watch the film "Food Inc."   

 

[ldg]

Otto, do you happen to have a link or the name of the site?

Thanks!  :catguy:

I don't know which site otto's using, but here's a link to the USDA nutrient database. http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

So, for instance, type in chicken raw, and click on the option you want. For the whole broiler, there's 70mg of sodium per 100g.

Duck raw: Duck, domesticated, meat and skin raw: 63mg sodium per 100g

One serving on meat labels is typically 4 ounces, so the amount of sodium, as AC points out, need to be less than 100mg to be not enhanced. The number should be lower for duck (it's not higher in sodium!)



Pink slime:

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/pinkslime-ammonia-ground-beef.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_slime

Meat glue shouldn't be in anything we'd be feeding our cats, as it's used in prepared meat products (at least that's my understanding): http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/meat-glue-ingredients.htm

 

[harleydiva]

Thanks everyone....I read all the links.....pretty gross stuff.  Certainly nothing I want my babies eating.  We have a small Whole Foods Market opening close to me in April......I'm really looking forward to it.  

 

[sevenwonders]

So I noticed that my Pork Loin has 150 mg of sodium per 4 oz seving.

(I think it uses a 12% solution of salt and water.)

This is one of the meats that I am cutting into small strips for the Kitties to chew on

for their teeth & gums. These strips are about 2 inches long and 3/8" thick,

and I am giving them about 3 times per week.

Of course I rinse it well before freezing.

Is that still too much sodium?

Do I need to be concerned with this?

Thanks!

 

[ldg]

Well, you're not feeding them much, but yes, that's too much sodium. Rinsing it won't remove much of the sodium, it's soaked into the meat.

The pork we get is 70mg per 4oz serving. Non-enhanced Smithfield pork loin (around here) is easy to find, and around here goes on sale all the time for $1.99 a pound.

The other thing to consider doing is chatting with the supermarket butcher. Here they put out the pork trim at $0.69 a pound, and there's no bone, though probably 30% fat, which means we're actually paying about $1.00 per pound for the meat in it - but it's not enhanced, and he's happy to let us know roughly when they'll have the pork trim out (it goes quickly).

 

[sevenwonders]

Thanks for the ideas Laurie  

I know my Kroger carries Smithfield, but I was thinking it was all Marinated.

I'll have to take a closer look next time.

I do have a friend in the Meat Dept there, so I'm sure I can have him set aside some scraps if nothing else.  

 

[raintyger]

Otto, do you happen to have a link or the name of the site?

Thanks! 

Can't speak for Otto, but I use this site:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/730/2

 

[ldg]

Can't speak for Otto, but I use this site:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/730/2

They pull the info from the USDA database, which is updated from time-to-time, and I don't know if they link to the new database on any regular basis.

IMO, best to just go directly to the source: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

 

[mschauer]

Can't speak for Otto, but I use this site:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/730/2

That site uses release SR 21 of the USDA database. There are several sites like this one that utilize data from the USDA database but I haven't seen one yet that keeps up with the new releases of the database. The USDA updates it about once a year. So that site hasn't updated their database in at least 4 years. There usually aren't huge differences between releases but it beats me why they don't make sure they have an easy way to update. It's not like the USDA charges for the database. Anyone can download it. They even provide a desktop application so you don't have to use the web interface if you don't want to.

They pull the info from the USDA database, which is updated from time-to-time, and I don't know if they link to the new database on any regular basis.

IMO, best to just go directly to the source: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

The link Laurie provides will always get you the latest version which is currently SR 25.