400 Chapter 23
readily molded or shaped to meet a particular
demand, and they can be manufactured to
resemble higher - priced cuts. Another advan-
tage of restructuring is that hot - boned pre-
rigor meat can be cold - set restructured
without the need to wait for the meat to go
into rigor to be fi rm enough to be sliced,
resulting in cost savings in time and space to
the processor (Farouk et al. 2005b ).
The disadvantages of whole - tissue restruc-
turing relative to intact meat is that major
investment is required to produce certain
products, processing requires a high input of
both energy and labor, fi ber alignment is still
done manually as no equipment is available
to automate the process, and the fi nal prod-
ucts may have poorer color, higher levels of
oxidation, and excessive connective tissue.Raw Materials for Restructuring
Whole - Tissue Meats
When producing restructured whole - tissue
meats, a wide selection of meat cuts and pro-
cessing aids are available to the processor;
which material is used would depend on the
method used in the restructuring, the end use
or market outlet of the product, and the pro-
cessing cost. The selection of raw material of
high quality and functionality is of primary
importance in the manufacture of any type of
processed meat product, including restruc-
tured meats. Meat that is microbiologically
safe and free from fl avor, odor, color and
other aesthetic defects should be used in
producing whole - tissue restructured meats.
Depending on the method of restructuring
and the binders to be employed, pre - or post -
rigor, hot - or cold - boned, and chilled - never -
frozen or frozen - thawed meat are suitable
for use.Coarsely Diced/Sliced Muscle Strips
For the manufacture of whole - tissue restruc-
tured meats from coarsely diced or sliced
muscle strips, lean skeletal muscles from theData on the current production of whole -
tissue restructured meat products is diffi cult
to obtain or estimate. This is because most of
the products are not identifi ed as restructured
during merchandizing. The diffi culty of
obtaining data on restructured meats was
raised earlier by Secrist (1987) and more than
a decade later by Pearson and Gillett (1999).
Some of the terminology used to describe
restructured meats includes boneless beef
fi llet (heat - and - serve restructured micro-
waveable steak), sandwich steaks, joysteak,
ribsteak, grillsteak, sandwich meat, reformed
steaks, reformed roast/joints, lamb medal-
lion, and meat cutlets (Pork McRibs).
Restructured meats are also included as
ingredients in ready meals and are catego-
rized as processed meats, too. For example,
the Roast Lamb and Roast Beef Dinners
marketed by Unilever ’ s Birds Eye (2008) —
a major UK ready meals manufacturer —
contained 15% restructured beef or lamb.
Therefore, considering that the global ready -
meals market reached a value of USD 46.9
billion, one can gauge the importance of
restructured meats by the volume and value
of ready meals and processed meats in the
market today (Datamonitor 2007 ). The total
West European processed meat market alone,
which includes delicatessen, frozen conve-
nience meat, canned meat, cured meat, and
bacon and ham, was worth Euros 116.5
billion (FFT 2007 ).
Advantages and Disadvantages
The advantages of restructured meat products
include ease of slicing; more accurate portion
control; lower cooking losses; uniformity of
color, texture, and fat distribution; minimum
waste to consumer and processor; accurate
prediction of yield; and programming for
nutritive value (Secrist 1987 ). According to
Pearson and Gillett (1999) , sectioned and
formed products have the added advantage in
that cheaper cuts can be utilized in producing
attractive bonded products, they can be