De-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, September 12,1992
WHERE’S THE FAT?
NOT HERE!
Dr. Edward Mills
Assistant Professor
Penn State
Department of Dairy
And Animal Science
Each year food manufacturers
offer Americans thousands of new
or modified food products. Many
of these products are intended to
satisfy a surging demand for lower
calory, lower fat, and more health
ful foods. Meat companies large
and small are busily working to
offer their own versions of low
fat, healthy meat products.
In each meat product category,
the opportunities for making a
low-fat item vary. For example,
fresh, whole-muscle meat items
such as steaks, chops, and roasts
offer only a few options for further
fat reductions. The only practical
option for the meat retailer to re
duce fat in such products is to trim
away surface or seam fat.
Immense amounts of fat are
Farmland Trust
Appeal Starts
YORK (York Co.) The York
County Farmland Trust’s 1992 an
nual appeal campaign began on
September 1,1992, with a goal of
$lOO,OOO, announced co-chairs
Joyce King and Arthur Glatfelter.
The $lOO,OOO goal will provide
funds essential to continue the
farmland preservation work and
operation of the Farmland Trust
Preserving our farmland is im
portant to all York Countians, said
Stan Brown, president of the
Farmland Trust The trust perman
ently protected over 450 acres of
York County farmland so far in
1992, and with continued support
of our directors and the communi
ty, we hope to substantially in
crease the number of protected
acres over the next 12 months.
Brown commented.
The strength and success of the
Farmland Trust can only be mea
sured by the support and member
ship of county citizens and organi
zations. To receive your contribu
tion form and membership
information, please call the Farm
land Trust office at 757-7012.
York County’s future depends
on the continued strength of its
number one industry, agriculture.
The Farmland Trust’s role in pre
serving farmland is vital to the
health and vitality of York Coun
ty, as well as to the environment.
The York County Farmland
Trust has grown in membership
from a fledgling group of six con
cerned residents in 1990, to 400
members in August 1992. The
Farmland Trust is the only private,
non-profit land preservation or
ganization in York County.
currently trimmed from meat ani
mal carcasses to provide lower-fat
products to consumers. The best
alternative to trimming away fat is
to avoid putting it on initially.
Production of leaner animals
combined with trimming of excess
fat results in a wide variety of
fresh meat products which are low
in fat
Unlike fresh, whole-muscle
items, manufactured meat pro
ducts such as ground beef, lunch
eon meat and frankfurters are for
mulated to contain whatever fat
content is desired. The processor
decides what the fat content
should be, and then combines ap
propriate ingredients to achieve
that target amount. Lowering fat
in these products is fundamentally
fall Beiler Hydraulics ©
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very simple - you just don’t put it
in. In many instances, meat pro
cessors are removing more than
75 perecent of the fat from these
products. However, the results of
such a decision can be catastroph
ic.
Research at Penn State and
elsewhere has shown that removal
of a large portion of the fat with
out replacement results in pro
ducts which are drier, more rub
bery, and less flavorful than those
to which consumers have become
accustomed.
Various strategies may be em
ployed to deal with these defects
in low-fat products. The common
strategy is to substitute water for
part of the removed fat. This can
make the product juicier and less
rubbery, but doesn’t contribute
any of the flavor or mouthfulness
sensation associated with fat.
Many recent innovations in fat re
placement for meat products rep
resent efforts to make added water
perform more like fat in those pro
ducts.
A brief description of several of
the materials which are being used
or studied follows:
• Carrageenan, a polysaccharide
purified from sea weed, has been
NEW DESIGN:
MmgaPoa! jk
Coupling Coupling
JR JR
m ta
The nose, or
"beak,"
creates a
concentric
line seal on
the male JIC.
JIC flared
seat can't
duplicate the
sealing
forces of
"the beak."
used successfully in a number of
low-fat meat products, especially
ground bfcef patties. It improves
the ability of such products to re
tain added water and release that
water during chewing to give the
desired juiciness. The carrageenan
used in ground beef does not
change the flavor. Thus, such pro
ducts often contain added flavor
ings to improve the meat flavor
profile.
• Oat bran or a mixture of oat
bran and oat fiber may also be
used to improve water retention
and juiciness in low-fat ground
beef. Oat bran also contributes a
desirable mouth feel to the juices
in the low-fat meat. In addition to
its functional benefits, oat bran is
often perceived to be healthful and
thus is a consumer-friendly addi
tion to the ingredient statement on
the package.
• Modified food starch is a low
cost alternative to carrageenan and
oat bran in low-fat meat products.
Although it is not as effective as
carrageenan, it aids in moisture re
tention. Modified food starch has
been used successfully in low-fat
pork sausage. Food starch has the
added benefit of being a familiar
ingredient with good consumer
IIHEGHSEHL
COUPUHG
FROm GHTES
BETTED BY I HOSE
Mega Seal Couplings are de
signed with a rounded nose,
or “beak," instead of the
conventional flared seat of the
female JIC swivel. The beak
makes all the difference: when
tightened or pressurized, the
beak flexes, making an ever
tighter seal on the male cone.
Rigorous testing proves that,
for stopping leaks, Mega Seal
Couplings are every bit the
(KEEP HO ME
Mogntoal Coupling* nrn to with
ttandnni malm JK luting*.
acceptance.
Much of the previous work in
producing acceptable low-fat
meat products has dealt with
ground meat, but the focus in Penn
State’s Meats Laboratory is cur
rently low-fat frankfurters.
Ingredients which work well in
ground beef don’t necessarily per
form well in frankfurters. The ad
dition of carrageenan or modified
food starch results in some im
provement in palatability of low
fat frankfurters, but they still lack
the distinctive wap and full flavor
of higher-fat products.
In recent studies, attempts have
been made to find ingredients
which more closely mimic fat in
frankfurters. One candidate may
be microcrystalline cellulose. This
material consists of microscopic
beads of cellulose. The beads can
be coated with a thin layer of fat
so that they function as fat drop
lets in the frankfurter. The tech
nology seems very promising.
Initial consumer test results
have indicated some improvement
in palatability, but more work is
needed before you will see low-fat
frankfurters with microcrystalline
cellulose in your local grocery
store.
OLD DESIGN:
equal of FFOR, less expensive
than FFOR, and are now the
standard by which the industry
will measure performance in
the years to come.
Comparisons with JIC
In comparing Mega Seal
Couplings to JIC* the contrast
is more remarkable, as the
chart below shows. In order to
achieve the same sealing
pressures as the Mega Seal
design, standard JIC fittings
must be over-tightened. Over
tightening often cracks the
nuts or seats, leaks develop,
and the assembly must be
replaced.