Why are farm products so watery these days?

Oranage2

Maybe should be for the conspiricy forum butI was frying rashers and after a bit it was like boiling rashers there was so much weater in the pan.

This is the same with pork, chicken and milk!

So are people injecting water into the products?

headmaster

I'd imagine that milk is 99% water anyway and probably always was. For the rashers you should buy dry cured, they're just like the ones years ago, the chicken I can't help you with, probably pumped.

Tora Bora

Oranage2 wrote: »

Maybe should be for the conspiricy forum butI was frying rashers and after a bit it was like boiling rashers there was so much weater in the pan.

This is the same with pork, chicken and milk!

So are people injecting water into the products?

Of course. I find dirty water, and old eng ine oil works best. :D

johngalway

Because there's more money to be made in selling water to the public than actual meat.

I would disagree with your description of rashers etc/ as being a farm product. The pigs come from farms for sure, but they're processed in factories.

The same is true of white pan, it's air bubbles and water. Some of the ingredients may come from farms, but you cannot pin the blame on the farmer for what the processor does to that ingredient before it reaches the consumer.

polod

Oranage2 wrote: »

Maybe should be for the conspiricy forum butI was frying rashers and after a bit it was like boiling rashers there was so much weater in the pan.

This is the same with pork, chicken and milk!

So are people injecting water into the products?

Where did you buy them in ?

Birdnuts

I've given up on the over-processed muck sold in supermarkets - i get my chicken and pork direct from a farmer M8 near Athy. Top qulilty free-range meat at a great price:)


PS: I slaughter my own lamb and still have some venison in the freezer from last autumn - happy days:D

Tora Bora

polod wrote: »

Where did you buy them in ?

Lads, he's a troll. Full of sh1t. Ignore him, or just convince him we fill all the meat with all kinds of stuff, so he never again enjoys a decent bit of a fry up.:cool:

Birdnuts

johngalway wrote: »

Because there's more money to be made in selling water to the public than actual meat.

I would disagree with your description of rashers etc/ as being a farm product. The pigs come from farms for sure, but they're processed in factories.

The same is true of white pan, it's air bubbles and water. Some of the ingredients may come from farms, but you cannot pin the blame on the farmer for what the processor does to that ingredient before it reaches the consumer.

Yes - the problem here is with the processors who are no friends of the farmer eitheir when it comes to many other issues:(

whelan1

i drink the slim line milk, it reminds me of the washings at the end of milking, find full fat milk really strong

blue5000

Hey OP

I recommend that you grill that stuff instead. But before you do, put a sheet of aluminium foil in the bottom of the grill tray first. You can save the gunge that you collect, preferably in a 25L drum. At the end of the year send it back to the PROCESSER so they can re-cycle it into pork/chicken again.:eek:

Or if you prefer,

buy beef at your local butcher.

polod

Tora Bora wrote: »

Lads, he's a troll. Full of sh1t. Ignore him, or just convince him we fill all the meat with all kinds of stuff, so he never again enjoys a decent bit of a fry up.:cool:

Haha ah yeah might aswel scare the s*** out of him coming out with a comment like that

Oranage2

Not trolling i just thought the boards farming forum would have more of a clue than the city folk, and its mostly the super market i do my shopping, though the butchers would still sell very watery bacon, I've noticed the cheap chicken too from the supermarket would have a lot of water.

Would it be common to hear of the processor pumping the meat with liquid?

5live

Oranage2 wrote: »

Not trolling i just thought the boards farming forum would have more of a clue than the city folk, and its mostly the super market i do my shopping, though the butchers would still sell very watery bacon, I've noticed the cheap chicken too from the supermarket would have a lot of water.

Would it be common to hear of the processor pumping the meat with liquid?

Just take one product i am more than familiar with. Cheezestrings. They add a product from seaweed called carrigeenans to the cheese so it can hold an extra 10% water iirc. So for a few cent extra per pack in cost of carrigeenans you can increase your sales by 10% because you are basically selling extra water for the cheese price. Now the carrigeenans are harmless to health but not to your pocket:P

And yes it is very common to add water to meat products. That is why when you cook them they almost disappear during the cooking.

Milk, afaik, is still regulated as to the minimum fat and protein % that must be contained in the container so a change in supplier may solve your taste dilemma here

As blue5000 says this problem almost disappears when you buy from a reputable butcher. They are the ones who show ,quite openly and where consumers can see, that their products are irish and the farms the animals come from.

Enjoy:)

johngalway

Oranage2 wrote: »

Not trolling i just thought the boards farming forum would have more of a clue than the city folk, and its mostly the super market i do my shopping, though the butchers would still sell very watery bacon, I've noticed the cheap chicken too from the supermarket would have a lot of water.

Would it be common to hear of the processor pumping the meat with liquid?

I bought a book years ago, "Food, what's not on the label". It's an eye opener. I can't remember it now as I haven't read it in a long time, for good reason, it put me off a lot of food :pac:

Don't take this bit as Gospel but I do remember hearing of imported chicken fillets that were put through some type of washing machine type of machine and injected with water also. Makes the consumer think they're getting more than they actually are. They may also add something to have it keep on the shelf longer, can't quite remember now. It's deception in my opinion.

If you Google search for water content in rashers you'll find bits, mostly in UK papers, on EU rules which are to limit the water content from a max of 10% to a max of 5%.

I had a very quick read of a couple of them last night. Guess who're objecting to it? The processors and the multiples (supermarkets). And the reason, that the consumer is now "used" to that taste :rolleyes:

No surprise there, they're the ones making the profit of that practice.

It gauls (spelling) me when I go into supermarkets, the big banners proclaiming they're relationship with farmers, as if they're the best thing since sliced bread to the farming community. They're not IMO.

5live

johngalway wrote: »

I bought a book years ago, "Food, what's not on the label". It's an eye opener. I can't remember it now as I haven't read it in a long time, for good reason, it put me off a lot of food :pac:

Don't take this bit as Gospel but I do remember hearing of imported chicken fillets that were put through some type of washing machine type of machine and injected with water also. Makes the consumer think they're getting more than they actually are. They may also add something to have it keep on the shelf longer, can't quite remember now. It's deception in my opinion.

If you Google search for water content in rashers you'll find bits, mostly in UK papers, on EU rules which are to limit the water content from a max of 10% to a max of 5%.

I had a very quick read of a couple of them last night. Guess who're objecting to it? The processors and the multiples (supermarkets). And the reason, that the consumer is now "used" to that taste :rolleyes:

No surprise there, they're the ones making the profit of that practice.

It gauls (spelling) me when I go into supermarkets, the big banners proclaiming they're relationship with farmers, as if they're the best thing since sliced bread to the farming community. They're not IMO.

There are good ones and bad ones out there john. We only get the truly irish rashers now as it actually is rashers there and their sausages dont p**s out as much fat as a former local Irish brand would do.

I just dont think people realise get what they pay for in supermarkets. Pile them high and sell them cheap. If you pay a small bit more for your meat then you probably are getting better value as the injected water and saline allow the supermarkets to sell at an apparently cheaper price but take out the added liquids and they end up paying more per serving.

But they make that choice for themselves. It is (or was:mad:), after all, a free country

blue5000

johngalway wrote: »

If you Google search for water content in rashers you'll find bits, mostly in UK papers, on EU rules which are to limit the water content from a max of 10% to a max of 5%.

I had a very quick read of a couple of them last night. Guess who're objecting to it? The processors and the multiples (supermarkets). And the reason, that the consumer is now "used" to that taste :rolleyes:

They're not IMO.

I reckon processors use these figures as a target! Sorry to mis quote you John, I presume you meant 5-10% max water content? Maybe we could find the exact EU ruling on this and post it up?

pakalasa

Buy from a decent Butcher. That'll solve most of your problems.

CJhaughey

They tumble a lot of meat in big machines with chemicals to make the meat absorb water.
Chicken fillets are very prone to this as is pork.
Check the label on pork chops as well, a lot of them now are saying ready basted. This doesn't mean the chop has a lovely sauce that it is marinating in it is another way of saying the pork chop has been tumbled in a machine with brine and is now 10% or more water.
Its just sheer greed that is driving this.
Butchers don't hang meat for any more than 3-4 days usually because the carcass loses too much water and therefore weight.
But as long as the consumer demands cheap meat then these practices will go on.
Try making your own rashers by dry salting some good pork.
There are plenty of recipes out there showing how to do it.

Ultimately it's down to you, as to what you will pay for meat.

johngalway

blue5000 wrote: »

I reckon processors use these figures as a target! Sorry to mis quote you John, I presume you meant 5-10% max water content? Maybe we could find the exact EU ruling on this and post it up?

I didn't see the UTV link until today and apparently I got my previous figures slightly wrong. Have a read:

http://www.u.tv/news/Water-in-bacon-new-rasher-regulations/a703c6e6-fb9c-4656-8250-dbcbfc6cb374

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/jul/27/water-in-bacon-new-rasher-regulations

paddyandy

The Food business has got very very crafty in recent years.

Bitten & Hisses

CJhaughey wrote: »

But as long as the consumer demands cheap meat then these practices will go on.
.
.
.
Ultimately it's down to you, as to what you will pay for meat.

This is the reasonfor "watery" produce. It works like this:
Consumer wants to pay less for his shopping. Retail multiple says "fine, but I'm not losing my margin. Hey Mr. Processor, what can you do to provide me with a cheaper rasher? (Own label of course, so that I can boot your arse out the door and substitute you with someone who'll supply it for a penny less whenever I feel like it)
Processor turns around and supplies crappy product with water sopping out of it. Retailer is the only winner in this.

LostCovey

Oranage2 wrote: »

Maybe should be for the conspiricy forum butI was frying rashers and after a bit it was like boiling rashers there was so much weater in the pan.

This is the same with pork, chicken and milk!

So are people injecting water into the products?

The main reason "farm products" are so watery is because Irish consumers are so watery.

They will buy chinese chicken breasts/nuggets because they are cheap.

They will buy Galtee products even though the company PROMOTED their lack of Irish produce during the dioxin "crisis".

They prefer their fresh meat presented on nice white styrofoam covered in clingfilm, with the pack filled up with gas to keep it nice and pink - instead of buying the fresher, better chosen (though slightly brownish - natural oxidation) cuts from their butcher, which have probably lived and died an hours drive away.

If you find farm produce watery, my friend, you should really go and check whether you are.

LostCovey

bbam

LostCovey wrote: »

with the pack filled up with gas to keep it nice and pink -

Wow.. I've been in farming circles along time and never knew that was happening.. What are they using.. Some of the cheaper inerts I presume, Ar or He ??
It makes sense though.. most folks shop with their eyes & pocket rather than any common sense..

We're running two pigs ourselves at the moment to see what the difference will be in the final product...

Bizzum

Modified Athmosphere Packaging has been about a good while now, I recall studying it in college 20 years ago ( Jaysus, I'm getting old:rolleyes:).
Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen mixtures used to be used, I dunno about nowadays.

5live

LostCovey wrote: »

The main reason "farm products" are so watery is because Irish consumers are so watery.

They will buy chinese chicken breasts/nuggets because they are cheap.

They will buy Galtee products even though the company PROMOTED their lack of Irish produce during the dioxin "crisis".

They prefer their fresh meat presented on nice white styrofoam covered in clingfilm, with the pack filled up with gas to keep it nice and pink - instead of buying the fresher, better chosen (though slightly brownish - natural oxidation) cuts from their butcher, which have probably lived and died an hours drive away.

If you find farm produce watery, my friend, you should really go and check whether you are.

LostCovey

Ah go easy LC. He came on and asked a question. Like most consumers he believed the sh**e in the papers and just didnt give a damn. He has an alternate viewpoint now and can make up his own mind. I dont think insulting him on his lack of knowledge achieves anything positive tbh

Tora Bora

bbam wrote: »

Wow.. I've been in farming circles along time and never knew that was happening.. What are they using.. Some of the cheaper inerts I presume, Ar or He ??
It makes sense though.. most folks shop with their eyes & pocket rather than any common sense..

We're running two pigs ourselves at the moment to see what the difference will be in the final product...

But you won't be able to kill it at home, because some beurocrat, somewhere in Brussels says so:(

Oranage2

Very interesting responses - I had a sneaky suspision that water was added but I didnt know how well know it was -

Well thanks to this thread I am now going to make a conscience efford to buy good quality meat from a good butchers.

Like whats the point paying 2-3 euro for a chicken when its mostly water!

Anyway cheers guys for the replys - you've made atleast one person less ignorant.