Keeping Animal Protein Natural

Salmon remains a consumer favorite with its star only rising with consumer recognition of omega-3 fatty acids. PHOTO: KWIK PAK FISHERIES

When it comes to meat, poultry and seafood, processors are faced with numerous challenges that begin with flavor and trend fulfillment -- consumers want food that's tasty and exciting -- and end with safe-food practices and packaging.

Commodity meat, poultry and seafood have seen drastic changes in production methods over the past few decades. Increasing demand for plentiful and inexpensive products has forced much of the production away from the family ranch or farm and toward large factory-like facilities with all the problems associated with size and speed. Yet the rush for speed, volume and competitive pricing created some high-profile food safety lapses, which ushered in major corrective paradigm shifts that forever changed the face of animal protein processing.

Today a growing number of consumers are weighing cost against food sources that promise free-range, grass-fed and antibiotic-free environments and product. All of that affects consumer perception of the end product, giving quality and value a more complex meaning and putting safety paramount — where it should be.
Even in stressed economic times, consumers are still focusing on taste and nutrition, according to Issac Wiesenfeld, president of Wise Organic Pastures, Brooklyn, N.Y., a family business devoted to supplying double-certified Kosher and organic poultry and meats.

Consumer interest in Kosher meats is steadily growing due in no small part to the fact that Kosher laws are stricter than USDA standards with regard to the health of animals that can be eaten. The laws strictly dictate how the animals are fed, killed and processed. "I would say in the protein category the demand for Kosher foods is growing at 5 to 7 percent annually," says Wiesenfeld.

Naturally…
Wiesenfeld also sees more growth in the "natural" product category, although "customers are waiting to see USDA legislation on defining the ‘natural' claim," he says. At the forefront of this natural movement is the Niman Ranch, Alameda, Calif.

Look to the Future

In meat, poultry and seafood, as in most other food categories, the future seems to be about convenience, smaller portions, individually packaged products, ready to cook/heat meals and more eclectic flavor trends, says Hilary Burroughs, manager of marketing services for Sanderson Farms.

Also as in other categories, there is pressure to preserve freshness naturally. "Use of preservatives is becoming less and less legitimate, and producers are seeking ways to continue providing fresh and healthy products with long shelf-life," says Oded Shtemer, president/CEO of Hefestus Ltd., Caesarea Industrial Park North, Israel. Hefestus is a developer of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), which replaces oxygen with other gases that maintain the integrity of the food. "The SLB [Shelf Life Booster] technology enables the extension of shelf-life in meat, poultry and fish products without preservatives, while maintaining the delicate texture of the products as well as esthetic and appealing visibility on display," adds Shtemer. "SLB technology offers producers the ultimate solution for maintaining the delicate texture of products."

From an 11-acre ranch in a small coastal town north of San Francisco, the Niman Ranch has grown to include more than 650 independent American farmers and ranchers united by traditional humane husbandry methods. Whether raising hogs, beef or lamb, these traditional farmers share Niman Ranch's dedication to the strictest animal husbandry practices and the belief that all-natural, humane and sustainable methods consistently produce the highest quality, best tasting meats.

"We go beyond the USDA definition of natural — minimally processed, no artificial ingredients — because we believe natural should also mean the animals have been raised humanely, without antibiotics or added hormones and fed an all-natural vegetarian diet," says Jeff Tripician, Niman's chief marketing officer. "At Niman Ranch, ‘naturally raised' isn't a trend. It's been our business and our passion for more than 30 years. Our mission has remained steadfast: to raise livestock traditionally, humanely and sustainably."

Natural also is part of the "quality equation" at Sanderson Farms. So are taste, nutrition, price, safety, convenience, according to Hilary Burroughs, manager of marketing services for the Laurel, Miss., producer of all-natural chickens. At Sanderson the term "all-natural" excludes injection of chickens with salt water, a process called "plumping," even though the FDA allows "enhanced" chickens to be labeled "100 percent natural."

So must all meat and poultry be produced in free-range, grass-fed, antibiotic-free environments? "When consumers are asked about [those kinds of] offerings, they are very interested. However, the cost of these products eliminates many consumers from purchasing it," says Burroughs. "It's challenging in that this type of farming will decrease the amount of protein processed, because you cannot treat ailing animals with antibiotics. And free-range animals are more susceptible to bacterial infections and predators.

"Our food supply would decrease tremendously if all farming practices were to be of this format," adds Burroughs. "There is a market for these items and a consumer willing to pay for them, however the growth rate seems to be miniscule. Consumers are still confused as to what these labels actually mean in terms of how the animal was raised, what they were or were not fed and how it affects the consumers' health, if at all."

"Naturalness" and meat brings out the irony in salt. "Salt is one of the few ‘clean' things on the label," says Janice Johnson, applications leader at Wayzata, Minn.-based Cargill Inc.. Cargill is both an ingredient supplier and one of the country's biggest processors of meat.

In addition to contributing its own flavor, "Salt contributes a nice flavor enhancement to other ingredients in the product," she continues. "Salt has been very important in the preservation of meats and keeping microorganisms in check, so the preservative aspect has to be addressed. Salt also increases the binding of meat. These solubilized proteins help increase the yield and keep the particles of the meat sticking together and sticking of the fat as well."

So when product developers try to remove salt and otherwise reduce sodium in meat products, they must keep an eye on other functional issues, she warns.

Welfare state
"The future of meat, poultry and fish will be complicated by the challenges of the new issues in the arena of animal welfare," says Joe Regenstein, professor of food science and head of the Cornell Kosher and Halal Food Initiative. "Animal welfare, sustainability, the environment and similar issues are on a collision course with consumer perceptions of what they think is best. It is clear the different flesh-food products have different carbon footprints, and this has important long-term implications for the balance between the various commodities, as more life-cycle analyses are presented.