Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Packaged or wrapped product – Packaged product is animal flesh
Patent
1994-12-09
1997-09-23
Tran, Lien
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Packaged or wrapped product
Packaged product is animal flesh
426106, 426312, 426315, 426316, 426418, 426513, 100910, 53432, 53436, 53527, B65D 8500
Patent
active
056701950
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to improvements in meat treatment and more particularly to improvements in methods and apparatus for treatment of meat in handling, storing, transporting and/or ageing.
Throughout this specification it is to be understood that references to "meat" include all forms of meat generally considered to be edible including fish, poultry and offal of all descriptions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Methods and apparatus for meat treatment are steeped in history and extend from rather primitive steps in merely "hanging" carcasses for a predetermined period of time to fast or slow cooling of hung carcasses and other developed techniques.
More recently, techniques for "off bone" meat handling have been developed as producers look to add value to meat products. However, considerable difficulty has been experienced in retaining the tenderness of meat handled in this way as often traditional methods of ageing have been difficult to apply in such circumstances where usually the carcass cannot be used to provide support for the meat during ageing. As a result, the quality of the meat can suffer, such as through being tough in cold shortening and the like.
One technique which has been developed is where the meat is subjected to relatively high pressures in a hydraulic pressure vessel for a short period of time, typically less than one hour. It has been found that such a technique can tend to enhance the tenderness of the meat and fluid retention of the meat, however, substantial difficulties are encountered in physical handling of the meat, in plant and machinery provision and in view of the fact that inevitably a high labour requirement is necessary.
The abovementioned pressure technique is as yet uncommercial and potentially has associated problems of high cost, undue process time consumption and the like. There remains, in addition, a difficulty in subsequent meat storage in a manner which retains the quality of the meat over a normally required period.
Attempts have been made to age off bone meat in substantially anaerobic conditions utilising container apparatus. Such an apparatus is described in New Zealand patent specification No. 220876, however, this apparatus carries with it inherent problems of dealing with weepage or drip of the meat during storage, together with contamination of the weepage or drip during the course of storage and consequent contamination of at least some portions of the meat during storage, or on removal of the meat from the storage arrangements. Furthermore, it has been found in practise difficult to control the extent of pressure applied to the meat.
In meat handling there is a general problem of transportation from a location relatively remote from markets and storage until sale, without resorting to freezing. It is well accepted that freezing meat inherently damages its characteristics and saleability.
Attempts have been made to store meat in environments having low free oxygen such as vacuum packing or modified atmosphere packaging utilising carbon dioxide and/or nitrogen. There is, however, evidence to suggest that direct exposure of meat to the gaseous phase can result in a deleterious effect on the meat over time.
It is an object of this invention to come some way in overcoming the abovementioned problems or at least provide the public with a useful choice.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a method of treatment and/or storage of meat including the steps of containing the said meat in a controllable environment under compression and at a temperature above the freezing temperature of meat in a controlled free oxygen reduced environment.
According to a further aspect of this invention there is provided a method of treatment and/or storage of meat including the steps of containing said meat in a controllable environment under compression, separating a surface of said meat from any gas present by substantially gas impermeable portions of a containment means, controlling said environment to
REFERENCES:
patent: 3627393 (1971-12-01), Hickson et al.
patent: 4919955 (1990-04-01), Mitchell
patent: 5155974 (1992-10-01), Garwood
patent: 5348752 (1994-09-01), Gorlich
New Zealand Meat Producer, "Paving the Way for Chilled Meat", Second Quarter 1992, pp. 26-27.
Vesten AG Division Food Concept, "Gasflush Packing Systems Information".
LeBlanc et al., Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 11(1987) 209-235.
Tenderland Limited
Tran Lien
LandOfFree
Method and apparatus for storing and aging meat does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and apparatus for storing and aging meat, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and apparatus for storing and aging meat will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1937908