WO2019171407A1

WO2019171407A1 - Method for the production and treatment of a meat-based food product

Info

Publication number: WO2019171407A1
Application number: PCT/IT2019/050048
Authority: WO
Inventors: Federica SFILIGOI
Original assignee: Villa Food Srl
Current assignee: Villa Food Srl
Priority date: 2018-03-05
Filing date: 2019-03-05
Publication date: 2019-09-12
Anticipated expiration: 2020-09-05
Also published as: IT201800003286A1

Abstract

Method for the production and treatment of a food product which provides to obtain a meat-based food product pre-sliced and vacuum-packed, and food product obtainable by means of such method for production and treatment.

Description

“METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION AND TREATMENT OF A MEAT- BASED FOOD PRODUCT”

* * * * *

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments described here concern a method for the production and treatment of a meat-based food product packaged in slices, which can be applied in the food, catering, and large-scale retail trade industries, and in general in commercial establishments used to serve and market said food product.

In particular, the present invention concerns a method for the treatment of a food product intended to produce meat-based processed food products to be sold or served in commercial establishments, shops, supermarkets, shopping malls, bars, restaurants, hotels or other type of premises used for the marketing of such products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Meat-based food products are known, also called“sliced meats” or“pre-sliced meats”, in which cooked cuts of meat are sliced and the slices are vacuum- packed.

It is known that the microbiological activity normally present in food products deteriorates their organoleptic properties over time. For this reason, the cuts of meat in question are imbibed with a water-based solution, also called fluid or brine, containing sodium nitrites and/or nitrates, which allows to slow down the normal microbiological activity.

It is also known, however, that the concentration of sodium nitrates and nitrites in meat is a parameter strictly regulated by various regional regulations, such as for example EC Regulation 1129/2011. In particular, EC regulation 1129/2011 currently allows a maximum dose of 150 mg of nitrate per kg of meat. For this reason, companies operating in the agro-food sector need to develop methods for the treatment of food products that use the lowest possible concentrations of sodium nitrates and nitrites for imbibing food products.

With regard to the so-called sliced meat products, such as cooked bacon, cooked ham, salami, or suchlike, the state of the art provides to imbibe the meat in fluid, or brine, generally by injection into the meat and/or by means of a step of immersing the entire piece of meat, also called“cut of meat”, in the fluid. Subsequently, a possible pounding step can be provided, that is, exerting pressure on the food product, to evenly distribute the fluid inside the meat fibers.

These procedures are normally applied to the raw food product, which is then cooked, sliced and vacuum-packed.

Currently, food processing methods do not allow certain sliced food products that are requested by consumers to be made commercially available, including the so-called“English roast beef’ in slices.

This food product has a typical pinkish-red color and high residual humidity, and is made through a step of cooking the entire selected piece of beef at low temperature, to then proceed with the slicing based on consumer requests. These characteristics do not allow to treat the cut of meat from which roast beef is obtained with the methods known in the state of the art, because the myoglobin, which gives roast beef its characteristic organoleptic properties, including its characteristic color, reacts quickly with the air and causes a browning and/or iridescence of the slices of roast beef.

It is clear that this must be avoided, since this color alteration would be unattractive to a consumer, hindering the marketing of such food products.

Another disadvantage of this sliced food product is that the high residual humidity and the low temperature cooking make the roast beef highly perishable from a microbiological point of view, which greatly reduces the shelf-life and therefore the commercial life of the product.

There is therefore a need to perfect the state of the art and to provide a method for the production and treatment of a meat-based food product packaged in slices which overcomes at least one of the disadvantages of the state of the art.

In particular, one purpose of the present invention is to perfect a method that allows to guarantee the microbiological stability of the food product, providing an acceptable and preferably even extended shelf-life, maintaining its organoleptic properties and quality to allow it to be marketed.

Another purpose of the present invention is to perfect a method for the production and treatment of a meat-based food product that allows to make a meat-based food product that has and maintains a pinkish-red color for a long period of time.

Furthermore, the present invention intends to provide a meat-based food product packaged in slices and treated with the method which has highly palatable organoleptic characteristics and which, at the same time, is safe from a hygiene and health point of view.

The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is set forth and characterized in the independent claims, while the dependent claims describe other characteristics of the invention or variants to the main inventive idea.

In accordance with the above purposes, embodiments described here concern a method for the production and treatment of a meat-based food product which provides at least a step of cooking a cut of meat, or a portion thereof, a step of slicing the cooked meat to obtain thin slices, a step of imbibing each of the cooked meat slices with a water-based solution containing sodium nitrites and/or nitrates, and vacuum packing the imbibed slices.

With the method described above it is therefore possible to obtain a pre-sliced and vacuum-packed meat-based food product that has a reddish-pink color similar to the reddish-pink color characteristic of English roast beef up to 30 days from the date of production.

The present invention also allows to obtain a meat-based food product able to preserve its organoleptic properties up to 30 days from the date of production, guaranteeing the microbiological stability of the food product and maintaining its healthiness and quality.

Embodiments of the present invention also concern a meat-based food product, vacuum packed in slices obtainable using the method described above.

Embodiments of the present invention also concern the packaging of a meat- based food product, comprising a vacuum pack inside which there are one or more thin slices of cooked meat, imbibed with a water-based solution containing sodium nitrites and/or nitrates.

These and other aspects, characteristics and advantages of the present disclosure will be better understood with reference to the following description and attached claims. The various aspects and characteristics described in the present description can be applied individually where possible. These individual aspects, for example aspects and characteristics described in the attached dependent claims, can be the object of divisional applications.

It is understood that any aspect or characteristic that is discovered, during the patenting process, to be already known, shall not be claimed and shall be the object of a disclaimer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

We will now refer in detail to the various embodiments of the present invention, of which one or more examples are described herein. Each example is supplied by way of illustration of the invention and shall not be understood as a limitation thereof. For example, the characteristics described insomuch as they are part of one embodiment can be adopted on, or in association with, other embodiments to produce another embodiment. It is understood that the present invention shall include all such modifications and variants.

The present description can provide other embodiments and can be obtained or executed in various other ways. We must also clarify that the phraseology and terminology used here is for the purposes of description only, and cannot be considered as limitative.

All the intervals reported here shall be understood to include the extremes, including those that report an interval“between” two values, unless otherwise indicated.

The present description also includes the intervals that derive from uniting or overlapping two or more intervals described, unless otherwise indicated.

The present description also includes the intervals that can derive from the combination of two or more values taken at different points, unless otherwise indicated.

By“cut of food product” or“cut of meat” here and in the present description we mean a piece or a solid portion of a food product with a protein matrix, in particular based on meat and its derivatives.

Hereafter in the description, unless otherwise indicated, we will refer by way of example to a food product, and in particular to beef or pork, preferably beef.

For example, for the preparation of English roast beef, the cut of food product can be rump beef and/or beef brisket.

According to some embodiments, the method for the production and treatment of a meat-based food product according to the present description comprises at least the following steps:

i) cooking a cut of meat, or a portion thereof;

ii) slicing the cut of meat cooked in step i) to obtain thin slices;

iii) imbibing each of said slices obtained in step ii) with a water-based solution, also known as brine, containing sodium nitrites and/or nitrates;

iv) vacuum packing of the slices imbibed in step iii).

According to possible embodiments, step i) can be performed following conventional cooking techniques, or any thermal cooking process.

As a non-restrictive example, the cut of meat can be cooked by vacuum cooking at a temperature comprised between 50°C and 60°C, in particular at 54°C, for a period of time comprised between 10 hours and 20 hours, for example about 16 hours.

In this way, in the case of a food product such as English roast beef, the color inside it will be advantageously reddish-pink and, advantageously, thanks to the method described here, the final food product in slices and vacuum packed also takes on and maintains a similar reddish-pink color.

According to possible embodiments, the cooking temperature can in any case be chosen according to the type of food product to be cooked and/or according to the type of cooking used.

According to possible embodiments, step ii) of slicing the cooked meat can also be carried out according to conventional techniques, so as to produce slices of cooked meat with a thickness comprised between 0.5 mm and 2 mm.

According to possible embodiments, slicing can be performed by slicing machines of the type known in the state of the art.

According to possible embodiments, between step i) and step ii) a step can be provided to bring down the temperature, which advantageously allows to compact the cooked meat, making it even more suitable for the subsequent slicing, thus allowing a quicker and more precise slicing.

According to possible embodiments, the reduction of temperature between step i) and step ii) can take place in an air temperature abatement cell. Following step ii), each slice of cooked meat is imbibed, individually, with said water-based solution containing sodium nitrites and/or nitrates. The imbibing can be provided for a plurality of individual slices at the same time, immersed in said solution, or the individual slices can be imbibed one at a time.

According to possible embodiments, the water-based solution containing sodium nitrates and/or nitrites advantageously allows to present and maintain a reddish-pink color of the meat slices, comparable in particular to the reddish-pink color of English roast beef, for a prolonged period of time after vacuum packing.

In particular, Applicant has found that sodium nitrites, compared to sodium nitrates, are distributed better inside the slice of cooked meat, thus yielding better performance as a lower quantity than that provided in the state of the art is sufficient for traditional treatments with nitrites and nitrates.

According to possible embodiments, the water-based solution has a concentration of sodium nitrites comprised between 0.5 g/L and 3 g/L, in particular comprised between 1 g/L and 2.5 g L.

According to possible embodiments, the water-based solution can also comprise one of either aromatizing substances, flavor enhancers, stabilizers and/or anti-oxidants.

According to possible embodiments, the imbibing step iii) takes place by complete immersion of each of the slices of cooked meat in the water-based solution.

The immersion advantageously allows the water-based solution to properly and evenly imbibe also the inside of each slice of cooked meat.

According to possible embodiments, the imbibing step iii) can provide to immerse each slice of cooked meat on a first side, turn the same slice of cooked meat over and immerse it on a second side, opposite the first side. This operation can be carried out simultaneously for a plurality of slices, or for each slice one at a time.

According to these possible embodiments, the immersion can be performed in a short period of time, allowing to speed up the imbibing step, for example from 0.5 seconds to 10 seconds, in particular from 0.5 seconds to 5 seconds, even more particularly from 0.5 seconds to 2 seconds.

For example, each slice of cooked meat can be immersed in the water-based solution for a period of time comprised between 0.5 seconds and 2 seconds, sufficient to evenly imbibe the whole slice of cooked meat immersed.

Advantageously, the step of complete immersion performed on each slice allows to distribute the water-based solution evenly inside the meat, without requiring a subsequent pounding step.

Furthermore, as the meat is imbibed following slicing step ii, step iii) advantageously allows to sanitize the meat externally in correspondence with the slicing zone, reducing possible microbiological activity generated during step ii).

According to possible embodiments, after step iii) the slices of imbibed cooked meat can be drained to remove any possible excess solution.

Following step iii), and the possible draining, the slices of cooked meat imbibed in this way are vacuum-packed, that is, put in a package and subjected to a step iv) of vacuum packing.

By way of example only, the slices of meat can be put inside trays and packaged with conventional vacuum-packed skin pack methods.

As is known, cooked vacuum-packed food products tend to emit an“exudate” which appears in the form of drops or suchlike, generated by the diffusion of liquids and/or fat through the food product.

According to possible embodiments, the tray can provide internally a sheet of absorbent paper or similar material on the bottom, which allows to absorb the exudate and possible residual moisture of the slices of cooked meat imbibed and vacuum-packed.

Alternatively or additionally, the trays can provide honeycomb supports to conceal the exudate and the possible residual solution and/or humidity from view.

Following stage iv), the cooked meat advantageously has a reddish-pink color.

Applicant has found experimentally that, in an interval of time comprised between about 5 and 15 minutes after imbibing, the sodium nitrates and/or nitrites contained in the slices of cooked meat initially determine a temporary browning of the food product, which changes color from reddish-pink to brown.

It is known, in fact, that myoglobin reacts with the oxygen in the air forming oxymyoglobin, which has a brown color.

However, Applicant has found that, subsequently, within about 3-5 days from packaging, the color of the food product made and treated with the method according to the present description changes again, turning advantageously from brown to a reddish-pink color completely similar to the reddish-pink color that the food product takes on immediately after the cooking step.

Without being limited by the theory, Applicant hypothesizes that this second color change may be due to the emission of the exudate by the food product, which allows to expel the brown compounds from the meat.

In this way, the food product made and processed with the method according to the present invention has the following benefits:

- an extremely reduced quantity of nitrates and/or nitrites in the meat, below the maximum limit allowed in the food sector by the regional regulations in this field;

- a second change of color of the food product which allows the latter to take on and maintain over time a reddish-pink color completely similar and comparable to the original reddish-pink post-cooking color, making the packaged food product palatable and attractive to consumers even after a prolonged period of time in vacuum-packed packaging.

In particular, the meat-based food product obtainable by the method according to the embodiments described here can have said reddish-pink color even up to 30 days from production, maintaining its organoleptic properties, it is stable microbiologically and therefore considerably extends its shelf life.

After the treatment according to the method described here, the meat-based food product in slices and vacuum-packed can be kept in refrigerated conditions, to be transported and/or distributed for sale at large-scale retail trade establishments, in shops, supermarkets, shopping centers, bars, restaurants, hotels or other types of premises, or commercial catering establishments or establishments for the sale of food products used for marketing such products.

Advantageously, the meat-based food product takes on the final color similar to the original color within a short interval of time, fully compatible with the storage, shipping and transport times normally provided for the food products in question.

Applicant, from experimental tests, has found that the meat-based food product obtainable by the method as described above advantageously has a mean concentration of sodium nitrates lower than 40 mg per kg of product and a concentration of sodium nitrites lower than 10 mg per kg of product.

By way of example, the following Table 1 shows some experimental values of concentration of sodium nitrates and nitrites in different samples of beef-based food products resulting from a treatment performed with the method described above, prepared by an analysis laboratory on behalf of the Applicant.

TABLE 1

According to possible embodiments, which can be combined with all the embodiments described here, downstream of step iv), the sliced and vacuum- packed food product can also be subjected to a high pressure treatment in a hydrostatic pressure chamber, so as to further increase the shelf life or commercial life of the food product.

For example, the sliced and packaged food product can be subjected to a high- pressure treatment (HHP, High Hydrostatic Pressure or HPP, High Pressure Processing). This high-pressure treatment, in fact, performs a cold pasteurization exploiting the high pressure, as the temperature increase in the matrix being treated is greatly reduced with respect to the known hot thermal pasteurization. This advantageously allows, in addition to stabilizing the bacterial load, to keep the organoleptic properties of the food product treated unaltered.

In particular, during the increase of the hydrostatic pressure, due to the friction forces that occur due to the rubbing of the molecules of the food product, heat develops from inside the food product, so as to pasteurize it.

In this step, the reciprocal sliding of the molecules, intended to produce the configuration of equilibrium with the minimum spatial occupation level, generates a temperature rise of about 2/3 °C every 1000 bar.

Thanks to this it is possible to obtain a very rapid pasteurization, essentially “cold” due to the small increase in temperature of the food product, in times ranging between 100 seconds and 400 seconds, as a function of the physical parameters and the type of food product to be treated.

According to possible embodiments, the high-pressure treatment can provide to use a hydrostatic pressure comprised between 2000 bar and 7000 bar, preferably between 3000 bar and 6000 bar.

According to possible embodiments, the hydrostatic pressure can be chosen according to the type of food product to be treated with the method according to the present invention.

According to possible embodiments, the high-pressure treatment can be performed for a period of time comprised between 200 seconds and 300 seconds, preferably comprised between 220 seconds and 260 seconds.

According to possible embodiments, the time the food products spend in the hydrostatic pressure chamber can also be chosen according to the type of food products to be treated with the method according to the present invention.

By virtue of the hydrostatic effect of the fat matrices distributed inside the food product, which produce respective melting points inside the food product, this high-pressure treatment is faster and more homogeneous than thermal pasteurization or other thermal treatments.

In the prior art, this high-pressure treatment is generally not used in the production of vacuum-packed sliced food products because the high pressures would tend to brown the food products.

Instead, Applicant has surprisingly verified experimentally that the concentration of sodium nitrates and nitrites in the food product advantageously allows to counteract the denaturation of proteins caused by the high pressure, counteracting the browning effect.

The high-pressure treatment therefore has the advantage of further increasing the shelf life or commercial life of the food product, even beyond 30 days from the date of packaging, without altering the reddish-pink color of the slices of meat. According to possible embodiments, the high-pressure treatment can be applied after the color of the sliced and packaged meat-based food product has turned from brown to reddish-pink.

It is not excluded, however, that the high-pressure treatment can be applied before the color of the meat slices turns from brown to reddish-pink.

It is clear that modifications and/or additions of parts and/or steps can be made to the method for the production and treatment of a meat-based food product as described heretofore, without departing from the field and scope of the present invention.

It is also clear that, although the present invention has been described with reference to some specific examples, a person of skill in the art shall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms of method for the production and treatment of a meat-based food product, having the characteristics as set forth in the claims and hence all coming within the field of protection defined thereby.

Claims

1. Method for the production and treatment of a meat-based food product, said method comprising the following steps:

i) cooking a cut of meat, or a portion thereof;

ii) slicing the cut of meat cooked in step i) to obtain thin slices;

iii) imbibing each of said slices obtained in step ii) with a water-based solution containing sodium nitrites and/or nitrates;

iv) vacuum packing of the slices imbibed in step iii).

2. Method as in claim 1, wherein, between said step i) and step ii), is provided step to bring down the temperature of the product cooked in step i).

3. Method as in claim 1 or 2, wherein said water-based solution has a concentration of sodium nitrites comprised between 0.5 g/L and 3 g/L, in particular between 1 g/L and 2.5 g/L.

4. Method as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein said water-based solution also comprises at least one of either aromatizing substances, flavor enhancers, stabilizers and/or anti-oxidants.

5. Method as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein said step iii) takes place by means of the complete immersion of each of said slices in said water-based solution.

6. Method as in claim 5, wherein said step iii) provides to completely immerse each slice on a first side, to turn the same slice over and immerse it again on a second side, opposite the first side.

7. Method as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein said method comprises, downstream of step iii), a step of draining the slices.

8. Method as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein said method comprises, downstream of step iv), a high-pressure treatment.

9. Method as in claim 8, wherein the high-pressure treatment provides to use hydrostatic pressure comprised between 2000 bar and 7000 bar, in particular between 3000 bar and 6000 bar.

10. Method as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein said slices have a thickness comprised between 0.5 mm and 2 mm.

1 1. Meat-based food product, vacuum packed in slices obtainable using a method as in any of the claims from 1 to 10.

12. Vacuum pack of meat-based food product, comprising a vacuum pack inside which there are one or more thin slices of cooked meat, imbibed with a water-based solution containing sodium nitrites and/or nitrates.