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Meat preservation - principally concerned with the application of measures to delay meat spoilage which are caused by municipal chemical and physical changes.

Three general principles of meat preservation:

1. Prevention of microbial growth

• Exposing meat to high or low temperature
• Treatment of meat with substances e.g. salt, nitrite, other chemical preservatives which will kill microorganisms or delay microbial action.

2. Prevention of oxidation and/or rancidity

• Prevent too much exposure to light and air
• Addition of antioxidants like butylated hydroxyl toluene [BHT] or butylated hydroxyl anisole [BHA]

3. Prevention of enzymatic reaction by exposure to high or low temperature.

Methods of Meat Preservation:

1. Drying - removal of moisture from meat from its original water content [70%] to about 15%.

Two ways of drying:

• Natural - use of natural sunlight to reduce the moisture content of meat.
• Artificial - use of a chamber equipped with heating elements maintained at a temperature of 110°F - 120° F [43°C- 49°C] and relative humidity of 85% is used for drying.

2. Smoking - process of subjecting meat to the action of smoke and heat generated by burning hard wood and/or saw dust.

3. Salting - is a simple method of dehydration in which the salt causes the withdrawal of water from the tissue of both meat and spoilage organisms.

4. Curing - is the application of salt, sugar, nitrite [potassium or sodium nitrite] and other preservatives and adjuncts.

Three [3] ways of curing:

• Dry cure method - application of curing ingredients in dry form.
• Sweet pickle cure - ingredients are dissolved in water to make up the sweet pickle solution.
• Combination - could be done wither by combination injection with sweet pickle and soaking in curing brine or injection of pickle and application of dry cure.

5. Refrigeration - exposure of meat to the range of 36° to 50°F [2°C-10°C] to retard mold and bacterial growth for a limited period only.

6. Freezing - exposure of meat to a temperature range of 0°F to 32° F [-18°C-0°C] resulting to crystallization of the water in the tissues, thus, inactivating the enzymes and the bacteria present.

7. Canning - the hermetic or air tight sealing of food in cans or jars and heating under pressure [pressure cooker, retort, autoclave] to reach temperature above 100°C at specific period of time.

8. Freeze-drying- removal of moisture from the tissues by sublimation or the transformation of the moisture content into gas without passing the liquid state.

9. Irradiation - transfer of extremely large amount of energy to effect very rapid and selective biological and chemical changes in meat.

source: www.da.gov.ph, photo from stippy.com

Read: Meat Processing Business

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