Vitiva and FutureMeat launch poultry moisture retainer
Last September Slovenia’s Vitiva entered into a partnership with Johannes Arason, an owner of Icelandic natural extract specialist Food Quality Inc, to form FutureMeat, a company based in The Netherlands to supply natural and custom-made blends for clean label meat and poultry applications.
At the time it was tight-lipped about the specifics of new ingredients in the pipeline, but Vitiva CEO Ohad Cohen told FoodNavigator.com: “We will be launching several natural products targeted at specific sectors of the meat industry. Our products will be phosphate free, thus offering an innovative and natural way of treating meat.”
Today’s announcement of VPoultry is true to this promise, as it is described as a natural alternative to phosphates and other synthetic ingredients often used by processors to retain moisture in the meat. It is said to be a combination of a mineral-rich sea-salt and Vitiva’s existing VivOx ingredient, which comes from rosemary and is already used for a number of purposes in the meat sector, including extending shelf-life.
According to Cohen, the new ingredient is a cost effective way of binding ingredients, as it provides better yield – as much as 20 per cent compared to non-injected poultry – and brings anti-rancidity function along with it.
It is also billed as heat-stable in processing, keeping its antioxidant activity at temperatures as high as 240ºc. The company also claims it can be used at lower injection rates, meaning less liquid and more retention of natural meat juices.
FutureMeat plans
While Vitiva has built its business around natural plant extracts (especially rosemary) and counts the meat sector amongst its main customers.
In addition to developing new ingredients, the partners plan for FutureMeat to also offer a consultancy service, auditing processors’ current production techniques and offering advice on how to reduce costs, increase yield, reach higher production efficacy without compromising on quality.
Cohen believes that by combining natural solutions and innovative techniques, FutureMeat will offer something which is not currently available to the meat processing industry.
“The meat industry is usually very conservative. We believe that the natural solutions and equipment we are bringing to the sector will have a big impact on the quality and taste of meat,” he said.
Editor's note: The article has been amended from the original, which stated that FutureMeat is a joint venture between Vitiva and Food Quality Inc. The partnership is in fact beween Vitiva and Johannes Arason only.
