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List of Additives Allowed in Meat & Poultry (Yum!)

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Feb 10, 2010 at 12:34:50 PM PST

Want to know what's in your meat and/or poultry? The government's got a new 40-page PDF document with a complete list of allowed additives. And, to help you decipher the list, they also provide a Glossary of Commonly Used Meat and Poultry Additives and Terms. Details below...

Jill Richardson :: List of Additives Allowed in Meat & Poultry (Yum!)

Here's a sampling of what you'll find in meat & poultry. By the way, many of these chemicals do not need to be labeled on the products you purchase.

Acidifiers: Ammonium hydroxide, an aqueous solution of acidic calcium sulfate, an aqueous solution of hydrochloric and acetic acid, an aqueous solution of citric and hydrochloric acid, an aqueous solution of citric acid, hydrochloric acid, and phosphoric acid, an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid, citric acid, and phosphoric acid, sodium bisulfate, and sulfuric acid.

Anticoagulants: Sodium tripolyphosphate

Antimicrobials: An aqueous solution of sodium diacetate (4%), lactic acid, (4%), pectin (2%), and acetic acid (0.5%); an aqueous solution of sodium octanoate or octanoic acid and either glycerin and/or propylene glycol andor a Polysorbate surface active agent (quantity sufficient to achieve the technical effect of octanoic acid emulsification) adjusted to a final solution pH of 1.5 to 4.0 using sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, or an acceptable GRAS [generally regarded as safe] acid;... (the list goes on for many pages and includes such gems as anhydrous ammonia and chlorine gas)

Antioxidants: BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene)

Binders: A mix of sodium alginate, calcium sulfate, glucono deltalactone, and sodium pyrophosphate; a mixture of carrageenan, whey, protein concentrate, and xantham gum; beef collagen; binders listed in 9 CFR 424.21(c) for use in cured pork products and poultry products; carboxymethyl cellulose (cellulose gum); carrot fiber; cellulose, powdered conforming to the specifications in the Food Chemicals Codex 5th Edition; guar powder, micronized; hydroxypropyl methylcellulose; inulin; konjac flour; methylcellulose; oat hull fiber; oat fiber; orange pulp, dried; orange pulp, dried and orange pulp, dried with guar gum; partially hydrolyzed proteins; pectin; pork collagen; pork skin proteins; rice bran; rice starch; sodium alginate; "(species) protein" (e.g., chicken protein); transgultaminase enzyme; trehalose, xanthaM gum (purified by recovery with ethyl alcohol)

Colorings: Carmine (cochineal)

Curing Accelerators (must be used only in combination with curing agents): Potassium erythorbate

Denuding agents (may be used in combination. Must be removed from tripe by rinsing with potable water.): Calcium carbonate, calcium citrate, calcium hydroxide, potassium carbonate, potassium citrate, potassium hydroxide, tricalcium phosphate, tropotassium phosphate

That's just the first 24 pages or so. The list goes on with film forming agents, flavoring agents, "Miscellaneous," packaging systems, poultry scald agents, and tenderizing agents. Yum!

Tags: Poultry, meat, Additives, (All Tags)

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List of Additives Allowed in Meat & Poultry (Yum!) | 3 comments

I looked up Konjac Flour (4.00 / 3)

The first documented use of konjac tuber as a source of food In China and Japan was In the ancient Japanese written work entitled, "Man-you-shuu." which was edited In the sixth century AD. A comprehensive collection of historical materials, which reference konjac in novels, essays and poems, was published by the Japanese Konjac Society in April 1985. The collection of materials document that its use as food is deeply rooted in the lives and customs of the people in Japan and China for centuries, Historically, konnyaku, the alkali-treated konjac flour, was used to cleanse one's digestive tract of irritating and poisonous substances and keep one's internal organs clean. The konjac tuber was introduced into Hawaii in 1858 and konnyaku was commonly eaten as food once or twice a week by Japanese in Hawaii.

http://www.konnyaku.com/e_data...

Further in the article, it describes its use as a substitute for pectin and gelatin.

by: Crider @ Wed Feb 10, 2010 at 21:23:34 PM UTC

Mmmm, miscellany... (4.00 / 2)

I don't know about you, but this almost makes me want to leave the farmers' market and start shopping from the supermarket again. Look at all the stuff I'm missing out on!

by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Feb 10, 2010 at 23:37:46 PM UTC

Safe and Suitable (4.00 / 2)

1,3dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin, peroxyoctanoic acid, 1-hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-diphosphonic acid, butylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid...my chemistry professors told me not to eat or drink that stuff. "Safe and Suitable" indeed.

This one is new to me:

Orange pulp, dried, use in non-standardized whole muscle meat and poultry products where binders are permitted and standardized whole muscle meat and poultry products where standards of identity permit the use of binders, not to exceed 3.5 percent of the product formulation
List as "citrus flour" or "dried orange pulp"

Citrus flour? Next thing we know the lime and lemon growers will want in on this. Or maybe they are, I didn't read the whole list.

by: count @ Thu Feb 11, 2010 at 01:51:13 AM UTC