Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and always firm to the bite - that’s how the ideal meat and sausage products are supposed to be - consistently appetising in the displays and refrigerated counters or at home on the plate. However, the great diversity of tasty culinary delights requires complex manufacturing processes, each with very specialised requirements.  

  For boiling, smoking, tumbling, curing, drying, fermenting and heating, Phosphate supplies solutions to support every meat processing operation. The top priority is to guarantee the freshness, taste and optimum further processing of meat products. So that emulsion-type products, cold cuts and cooked cured meats are always delicious, and connoisseurs have their fill of pleasure, too.

Water retention capacity

In the living muscle tissues, the cell’s own phosphate compound, ATP (adenosine triphosphate), controls the open structure of the muscle protein actomyosin, and thereby its ability to retain water.

After slaughter, the cell’s own ATP quickly decomposes through biochemical reactions. This results in a drop in pH, the muscle proteins contract (rigor mortis) and lose their capacity to retain water - the meat becomes dry, tough and stringy. 

  Diphosphates demonstrate comparable characteristics to cell’s own phosphate. They enable the natural water retention capacity of actomyosin in the meat to be restored.

Solubility

The solubility and the rate at which an additive is dissolved play a decisive role in the manufacture of meat products. As diphosphates dissolve particularly poorly in the presence of salt, special compounds of phosphates are required.

Emulsion stabilisation

Only a stable meat emulsion can guarantee, in further processing, that binding, colour and consistency are ideal in the end product.

   Here, phosphates have a decisive effect on the pulping and solution of the fibrillar muscle protein; both are important for the binding of the meat and for creating the firmness required for slicing. 

There are two main functions of phosphate in food processing: first, as a quality improver, improve the tissue structure and taste of food, and second, it can be used as a mineral nutrition fortifier.

Applications in the processing of meat products and poultry meat Products:

1.1 In order to improve the quality of meat products, phosphate is usually added to the processing of meat products, the role of which is:

A. Improve the adhesion of meat products and improve the slicing performance of meat products;

B. Improve the water holding capacity of meat, so that meat products in the processing and cooking process can still maintain its natural moisture, reduce the loss of nutrients in meat, preserve the tenderness of meat products, improve the yield;

C. Control the ph value of meat products in the most suitable range of protein bloating and make meat products produce the best color;

D. Improve emulsification performance and emulsification stability, effectively prevent the separation of fat and water;

E. Closed metal cations, delay the oxidation reaction in the processing of meat products, can effectively reduce the rate of acid production, inhibit the decolorization of meat products, acidity, prolong the shelf period of meat products;

F. Improve the processing performance of meat products and improve production efficiency. 1.2 Meat holding water generally refers to in the processing process, the moisture of meat and the ability to maintain moisture added to the meat, the level of water holding is directly related to the texture and yield of meat products, adding phosphate can effectively improve the water holding capacity of meat products.

How to use phosphate and other additives reasonably without affecting the flavor of meat products to maximize

The water holding and adhesion of high meat products and the reduction of cooking loss of meat products have been important topics in the research and development of meat products.

1.3 Rational use of phosphate in the processing of meat products: In practical application, according to the type of meat products, texture requirements, production technology, raw materials and other conditions combined with a variety of phosphate characteristics to choose the appropriate phosphate species and the amount of addition. Meat products with pyrophosphate have been added, and the natural water retention capacity of their muscle proteins has been restored and enhanced, and polyphosphate can quickly be converted into coke phosphate under the action of muscle enzymes, thus achieving the same effect. Although the water retention effect of pyrophosphate is the best, its solubility is too poor, so it can not be used alone in most cases, but is often combined with a better solubility of long-chain polyphosphate or phosphate potassium salt.

In addition, in order to play a variety of phosphate and phosphate and other additives between the synergies, often the use of a variety of compound meat products modifier. A. For sausages and minced meat products, coke phosphate and medium chain long polyphosphate are usually used and added in the form of dry powder when chopped.

The ph value of the compound phosphate used is generally around 7, and sometimes the compound phosphate with a ph value higher than 9 is also used.

B. Compound phosphate for injection of brine must meet the following requirements

1) Good solubility in ice brine;

2) high dissolution rate; 3) Good stability in ice brine.

The ph value of the compound phosphate used is generally 8.5--9.5. In the preparation of ice brine for injection to achieve the best muscle protein activation effect, it is best to dissolve phosphate in ice water, and then add salt, this order generally can not be reversed. The amount of mixed phosphate added is generally 0.1-0.4%, but the dosage should be strictly controlled when used. If the amount of addition is too high, it will damage the original flavor of the meat, and because the ph value increases and affect the hair color.