Pork Chops + 15% Added stuff

brian ireland

Has anyone else noticed that pork chops etc in supermarkets are now called "Basted" It seems some pork is now injected with some sort of mix to keep it moist when cooked.
I always was under the impression that pork was 100% pork but not anymore. I am not sure if its a bad thing that its flavour enhanced.
It wont dry out as easy as before i suppose.
Next time you pick up your pork chops turn the pack over and look for the 15% added stuff. Looks like we are heading the American way

the beer revolu

I made a complaint to Tesco a couple of years ago regarding the fact that this information was on the back of the pack and got no satisfaction at all.
I have noticed, however, that the added ingredients are now listed on the main label!

Krusty_Clown

I noticed that Dunnes has gone in this direction too, and I can't imagine it being in response to customer demand. It is a little alarming. The only thing to do is not buy these products. As the margins get tighter, that 500g packet will be more water, less meat.

CJhaughey

As I see it they are doing this for two reasons, The first is obviously profit.
Why sell meat when you can sell water?
the second is that most commercial pork(Landrace) is so ridiculously lean and killed so young that it doesn't have a chance to grow and form the nice marbled meat that pork should have, thus when cooked it goes dry and is not very palatable.

brian ireland

Its wrong full-stop that supermarkets can sell pork for years with no added ingredients and the suddenly inject it with all sorts of stuff and not let us know.

I guarantee the majority of consumers think they are buying the same pork they always bought without knowing its pumped full of water.

DublinWriter

Pick up a packet of Denny Gold-Medal sausages and you'll find they are comprised of only 53% pork.

brian ireland

DublinWriter wrote: »

Pick up a packet of Denny Gold-Medal sausages and you'll find they are comprised of only 53% pork.

I understand that but we always knew sausages are a mix of lean fat rusk etc. My point is the pork we buy every day has been replaced with injected stuff and most people never even noticed

the beer revolu

brian ireland wrote: »

Its wrong full-stop that supermarkets can sell pork for years with no added ingredients and the suddenly inject it with all sorts of stuff and not let us know.

I guarantee the majority of consumers think they are buying the same pork they always bought without knowing its pumped full of water.

They do let us know - on a very small label placed, funnily enough, on the back of the packet!!
If one was more cynical than I, you'd think it was deliberately put where most people wouldn't notice it!!

Darkginger

This makes me seethe with anger! Thanks for the headsup about it - I'll be examining all the meat I buy more closely in future, and if I find any of this stuff in my local supermarkets (Centra, Supervalu, Tesco, Dunnes) I'll be asking the manager for an explanation - LOUDLY!

Seriously people, if we don't want this to become the norm here, as it is in the US, we need to make a fuss about it. I fully intend to.

rubadub

Darkginger wrote: »

if we don't want this to become the norm here,

I thought it was pretty much the norm nowadays, what struck me as new was the nerve of them to use the word "basted". I also expect a lot of meat in butchers is now "diluted", people put far too much trust/confidence in butchers for some reason, like they can do no wrong and supermarkets are evil. I have heard some sick stories from an ex-butcher I know, of course there are good ones too, but some people treat the word "butcher" like it is a brand name -all the exact same. I have seen lots of suspiciously waterlooking meat in some butchers, and they get away with not listing any ingredients.

I noticed the basting word on some pork packs a few weeks back and was trying to imagine some michelin star chef on TV saying "now baste the pork with phosphates diluted in water" mmmm....

the beer revolu

rubadub wrote: »

I thought it was pretty much the norm nowadays, what struck me as new was the nerve of them to use the word "basted". I also expect a lot of meat in butchers is now "diluted", people put far too much trust/confidence in butchers for some reason, like they can do no wrong and supermarkets are evil. I have heard some sick stories from an ex-butcher I know, of course there are good ones too, but some people treat the word "butcher" like it is a brand name -all the exact same. I have seen lots of suspiciously waterlooking meat in some butchers, and they get away with not listing any ingredients.

I noticed the basting word on some pork packs a few weeks back and was trying to imagine some michelin star chef on TV saying "now baste the pork with phosphates diluted in water" mmmm....

It's true, not all butchers are good.
So many display, almost exclusively, chopped up meat in prepared sauces (yuch), they use lighting tricks to make their meat look shiny and red, some display no prices, many are completely phased if you ask them for anything more than a chop, I've come across one who passed off general beef pieces as shin and most sell poor, unaged meat!

A good butcher, however is something to be valued and supported.
I also buy meat from some supervalues.

rubadub

the beer revolu wrote: »

they use lighting tricks to make their meat look shiny and red

It is not just lighting, the ex-butcher told me they used to put red dye in mince to make it appear to have more meat, and to make it appear like beef -they would put pork offcuts into the beef mince, they would also put grain type fillers in like for sausages so the fat would not all fall out when cooked and give the game away. Another mate who worked in a supermarket deli told me most of the seasoned meat at their butchers counter -like the spicy pork chops etc was taken from onshelf packets which had gone discoloured and were near or at the use by date.

the beer revolu

Nothing wrong with rusk and fat in sausages.
A too lean sausage is awful!

I've been making sausages lately and think with the next batch, I'll be putting breadcrumbs so all the fat doesn't drain away leaving a very dry sausage!

rubadub

the beer revolu wrote: »

Nothing wrong with rusk and fat in sausages.
A too lean sausage is awful!

Yep, dunno if you picked up what I was saying wrong though, they were putting this dye, filler & pork in supposedly pure beef mince.