How to choose the meat preparations? We talk about it on Thursday 9 March 2017, at 8,30, a One morning, RaiUno. This category of foods maintains an important role in the diet of Italians, despite the increase in vegetarians and vegans.
The meat preparations on the shelf are more and more numerous thanks to the factor 'convenience', the comfort. Just open the pan and cook in a few minutes. Burgers, roasts and scallops, cutlets and 'cordon bleu '. There is something for everyone, but it is always good to read the ingredients list on the label for an informed purchase.
Which meat?
Beef or pork, chicken or turkey, any type of meat is fine, as long as it is. If instead we read 'mechanically separated meat' (CSM) we are faced with a by-product, the pink slime ('pink slime'). It is obtained by removing the muscle residues - so damaged - from the bones or carcasses, with physical processes under pressure. The quality of MSM is far inferior to meat, and must be cooked carefully to inhibit pathogenic germs. (1)
How much meat is there?
The more elaborate the recipe, the less valuable the raw material is. Just see the percentage, after the ingredient, in the list. No wonder a hamburger contains 90% meat, but when a breading is close to 50% of the product weight it may be worth considering alternatives.
Origin? The obligation to declare the countries of birth, breeding and slaughter only applies to meat products. (2) When we only read 'origin', it means that the animals were born, raised and slaughtered in a single country. Il 'Made in Italy' it is preferable, both in the origin - which can be indicated, on a voluntary basis, also on the labels of the preparations - and at the place of production.
What else is there in meat preparations?
In meats and meat preparations, the presence of aromas, preferably natural, of salt and spices is inevitable. Possible that of additives, antioxidants in particular, which are of no concern. (3) But if the list of ingredients is too long, it may be better to choose simpler foods before the table test. Considering that, when the raw material is of quality, there is no need for large decorations.
The nutritional table finally, it deserves a glance, to confirm the appropriateness of the choice. In these foods the proteins express quality, the salt to mask the vices. The comparison between the protein and fat content, in particular, is the litmus test to verify the intrinsic value of the product.
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) A further variant is the so-called 'recomposed flesh'. That is to say pieces of meat 'glued' with an enzyme, transglutaminase, which allows them to be reassembled into larger pieces
(2) Whether fresh, frozen or deep-frozen, from beef and pork, sheep and goat, poultry. Reg. (CE) 1760, 1825/2000, Reg. (UE) 1169/11 and 1337/13
(3) The most common antioxidant is ascorbic acid, also known as vitamin C. The use of rosemary and its extract is widespread in meat products.
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
