ADM soy protein promises better quality meat products
could help increase shelf life and cooking yields, while also
improving the texture of products, says supplier Archer Daniels
Midland (ADM).
Arcon SI, the latest addition to the ingredients firm's range of soya proteins, is suitable for use in a variety of applications, including cooked hams, turkey rolls, chicken breasts and roast beef.
According the company, which introduced its product at the FiE show in Paris earlier this month, Arcon SI has "exceptional water binding properties," which are what allow it to increase shelf life.
"The soy concentrate has 70 per cent protein, which will bind water, and also 18 to 19 per cent fibre, which also absorbs water. And because the way it holds water is such that once accepted it won't release it, this prevents microbial growth in vacuum packed products, ensuring that the goods reach consumers as the manufacturer would like them to," said Steve Mott, technical director of ADM Europe.
The water retention of the product can also offer improved "juiciness" and reduced cooking loss of up to 10 per cent, resulting in a possibility to reduce the product's cost, explained Mott.
ADM claims that Arcon SI also improves the organoleptic characteristics of meat products, as it can impact the dryness or moistness of their mouthfeel, depending on consumer demand.
Additionally, its water binding properties allow Arcon SI to maintain the meat's structure for easier slicing.
ADM has also minimized the levels of nitrite and nitrate in its new soy protein. This allows for the pinking of red meat products but prevents any colour change in white poultry meat - "one answer for both industries," according to Mott.
Easy to use, Arcon SI can be incorporated into a brine solution, which can then be added to the meat by injection.
While meat manufacturers are already using soy proteins in their products as a way to improve the meat's structure, it is still relatively new to be using a soy concentrate, explained Mott.
"Our product is not the first soy concentrate, but it will be the best," he said.
"I don't get excited very easily but I think this is a very good entry into a market where there is a potential benefit, within the constraints that each country has regarding the legislation of this type of product," Mott told FoodNavigator.com, explaining that under the guidelines of certain local legislation, injecting meat with soy concentrate means that manufacturers have to adapt the name of their product so as not to mislead consumers.
Arcon SI has recently hit the European, African and the Middle Eastern markets, and although ADM has already received a "significant number of requests" for samples, the company says it is still too early to gauge customer responses.
Other products introduced by the food-processing and agricultural-services giant at the recent FiE include a range of low trans fat oils targeted at bakery applications and a bright red cocoa powder intended for use in applications such as chocolate milk, ice cream and deserts.
