Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23B—PRESERVING, e.g. BY CANNING, MEAT, FISH, EGGS, FRUIT, VEGETABLES, EDIBLE SEEDS; CHEMICAL RIPENING OF FRUIT OR VEGETABLES; THE PRESERVED, RIPENED, OR CANNED PRODUCTS
  • A23B4/00—General methods for preserving meat, sausages, fish or fish products
  • A23B4/005—Preserving by heating
  • A23B4/0053—Preserving by heating with gas or liquids, with or without shaping, e.g. in form of powder, granules or flakes
  • A23B4/0056—Preserving by heating with gas or liquids, with or without shaping, e.g. in form of powder, granules or flakes with packages, or with shaping in the form of blocks or portions

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the processing of food products and more particularly to the further processing of cooked meat products.
• the processed meat industry is a large and growing portion of the total food packaging market.
• Processed meats includes luncheon meats, smoked meat products, reconstituted and other forms of meat which are often packaged and sometimes repackaged, and also often cooked before shipping to a point of sale.
• Cooking containers typically thermoplastic bags such as the CN bags available from W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. through its Cryovac Division, are often used in packaging and cooking processed meats.
• a typical practice in the processed meats industry is to strip the cook-in bag from the processed meat after cooking, followed by some form of further processing.
• This further processing can include the addition of colorants and seasonings, slicing of the processed meat product to smaller portions, glazing and the like.
• the inventor has found that by taking such reprocessed cooked meats or other types of processed meat items, and placing them in a heat tolerant container such as a cooking bag, and exposing the repackaged product to a heat treatment of the product surface, a reduction in the bacterial load which was reintroduced to the product surface is obtained.
• Reprocessing can involve submerging the resurfaced product in hot water (160° F. to 205° F.), or a comparable medium for dwell times ranging from 30 seconds to 10 minutes.
• a method of treating cooked meat products comprises packaging the cooked meat product in a flexible heat tolerant container; placing the packaged meat product in a heated medium kept at a temperature between about 160° F. and 205° F.; and maintaining the package in the heated medium for between about 30 seconds and 10 minutes.
• the invention comprises a packaged meat product which has been cooked in a bag or casing; removed from the bag or casing; further processed; repackaged in a heat tolerant container; exposed to a temperature of between about 160° F. and 205° F. for a period of between about 30 seconds and 10 minutes; and cooled.
• the present invention provides a means for reducing the microbial numbers which are introduced during re-processing of cooked unpackaged processed meat products.
• microbes referred to here are generally those that can affect the shelf life and organoleptic quality of the food product. These include lactic acid organisms, aerobes and anaerobes.
• shelf life is a somewhat subjective barometer of food quality, organoleptic and other measures can be used to determine shelf life for a given food product.
• the shelf life using the post pasteurization process of the present invention is extended from 45 days (without reheating) to 60 to 90 days (with reheating).
• shelf life using the post pasteurization process is extended from 21 to 31 days without the use of this process to between 60 and 90 days with the use of this process.
• the invention has also been found useful in the treatment of ham.
• the presence of salt and nitrites in ham will also assist in shelf life, so that improvements attained by the use of the post pasteurization process of the present invention are less dramatic.
• the optimum temperature range and dwell time for reheating cooked and repackaged food products is product dependent and also time/temperature related.
• some high fat products such as sausage can only withstand a limited reheating before purge and discoloration.
• a temperature of between about 180° F. and 200° F., and more preferably about 190° F., held for between 60 and 90 seconds is optimal in reducing microbe count and extending shelf life.
• a meat product such as turkey breast or roast beef will be cooked in a cook-in bag such as a Cryovac CN 530 cook-in bag. After the cooking cycle is completed, the cooked food product is removed from the bag.
• the present invention provides an effective way of delaying the microbial growth created by such reprocessing.
• the reprocessed food product such as a meat product is packaged in a heat tolerant container or structure such as the CN 530 material used for the original heating process.
• a heat tolerant container or structure such as the CN 530 material used for the original heating process.
• Other heat tolerant materials, bags, pouches and structures may also be used depending on the time/temperature requirement and the degree of heat tolerance of the container, as well as other factors such as cost of the heat tolerant material.
• the prepackaged food product is then exposed to a regime of high temperatures for a short period of time. It has been found that overall the optimal temperature ranges are between 160° F. and 205° F.
• the preferred dwell time is between about 30 seconds and 10 minutes.
• the heating medium is preferably hot water, although steam (for example in a smoke house) or other hot liquids, or heated gasses such as heated air may also be used in some cases. In most applications and for most food products, hot water is the preferred heating medium.
• TBA values referred to in the examples refer to rancidity (fat breakdown).
• a standard test is used for determining TBA values, which measures the presence of breakdown products.
• the remainder of the CN 530-packaged hams (27) were exposed to 205° F. for either 30, 60 or 90 seconds in a Groen Model 500 to pasteurize the surface of the product. A three-minute period was allowed between each pasteurization treatment to ensure equilibrium of the cook tank temperature. All samples were chilled in an ice water bath immediately following pasteurization and were placed in an open display cabinet operating at 34° F. to 38° F. and 80 to 120 ft-c. Samples were evaluated after Day 1 and 6 weeks, 12 weeks and 18 weeks of storage.
• pH and TBA values were determined on 18-week-old samples. Ham color and purge accumulation and viscosity were subjectively determined throughout the test.
• Table 1 indicates that hams which were pasteurized for 60 or 90 seconds had a microbial population which was significantly less than those found in Barrier Bag or CN 530 controls at each week of storage. Hams which were pasteurized for 30 seconds had counts which were significantly less than controls up to the 12th week of storage, but this difference in microbial numbers diminished by the 18th week of storage. From the results seen in Table 1, it appears that the 60- and 90-second pasteurization treatments, and to a lesser extent the 30-second treatment, significantly affected the outgrowth of all microbial inhabitants during storage.
• a precooked turkey product and a smoked sausage product were removed from the original packaging material and dipped into an inoculum suspension.
• inocula were prepared. These consisted of several species each of streptococcus faecium, salmonella spp. and Clostridium Sporogenes. Both mixed species and single species inocula were used.
• the inoculated products were placed on a stainless steel rack and allowed to drain for at least two minutes to remove excess liquid.
• the inoculated product was then placed into Cryovac CN 530 bags and sealed using a Koch/Multivac A 300 packaging machine.
• Immersion heating was accomplished using a water tank heated by steam injection with agitation to approximately 190° F. Immersion time was about 60 seconds. The product was then cooled immediately for about 60 seconds.
• a mixed species inoculum was prepared by combining equal volumes of the single species inocula.
• the mean values are an average of between 1 and 3 replicate measurements, each replicate measure having two duplicates.
• Example 2 A second study along the same lines as that of Example 2 was performed, using the same two products and three organisms found in Tables 3 through 5. In this study, pasteurization was performed at 205° F. for 2 minutes.
• Caramel-glazed cooked turkey breasts were exposed to a temperature of 195° F. in a shrink tunnel for 1 second, and then to the same temperature for a period of 90 seconds. It was found that the shelf life of the food product was extended from about 14 to 21 days of shelf life (without treatment) to about 60 days with the heat treatment just described.
• Post-pasteurization was conducted at 205° F. for 5 minutes.
• Roast beef is an uncured item with lower salt levels which can withstand longer dwell times without any detrimental effect to product quality.

Landscapes

• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Zoology (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
• Food Preservation Except Freezing, Refrigeration, And Drying (AREA)
• Meat, Egg Or Seafood Products (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

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ID=23309052

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Cited By (12)

Families Citing this family (2)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 1989
  • 1989-04-07 US US07/334,834 patent/USH762H/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1989-06-29 CA CA000604307A patent/CA1333347C/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1990
  • 1990-04-02 AU AU52508/90A patent/AU5250890A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1990-04-06 JP JP2091998A patent/JPH02295432A/ja active Pending

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