Food Prices and Crappy Waterlogged Meat

[AbbyTC]

Secret?!?!????

Yep!  Both the burger sauce and what I put in the hamburger!  Might be willing to share for a couple of beers, but you need to come to PA for it.     

[me]

But it IS ILLEGAL.  According to your story, it was not stated on the package, hence, it is illegal.  Make the call if what you say is true.

No package if you get it out of the case and, yes, they do state it on the package but not the amount.

Hey Me!  Here's the burger I made tonight with water-logged hamburger.       Store brand meat and I got 4 quarter pound patties out of the pound of meat I purchased.  Normal amount of shrinkage and tasted great!

I get 4 patties out of a lb also but I don't buy where they add extra water to the meat before grinding. I do 1/3 lb burgers though so I get 3 large ones which also don't shrink unless I get the cheap kind that has fat in it. Been doin' Bison lately though and they have no fat and very little water. 

[Locutus]

Everyone should try a bison burger if you haven't already.

[me]

Everyone should try a bison burger if you haven't already.

Most definitely. It's healthier for you and tastes a lot better. The steaks are real tender if you haven't tried them you should, we like the NY strip real well.

[AbbyTC]

No package if you get it out of the case and, yes, they do state it on the package but not the amount.
I get 4 patties out of a lb also but I don't buy where they add extra water to the meat before grinding.

Holy Shit, Me!  What don't you get?  It's illegal to add water either before or after grinding to hamburger or ground beef!  ILLEGAL!!

From the Food Safety and Inspection Service part of the USDA site:          Ground Beef and Food Safety  Beef fat may be added to "hamburger," but not "ground beef." A maximum of 30% fat is allowed in either hamburger or ground beef. Both hamburger and ground beef can have seasonings, but no water, phosphates, extenders, or binders added. The labeling of meat food products must comply with the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the meat inspection regulations and labeling policies.

[Purplelady1040]

Holy Shit, Me!  What don't you get?  It's illegal to add water either before or after grinding to hamburger or ground beef!  ILLEGAL!!

[Exterminator]

Nope, it wouldn't do any good so I avoid the stores that I know do that. Problem solved.

That should be pretty easy to do since there are no stores that do that.  Meat is already 75% water; why would they need to add more?

[Henry Hawk]

That should be pretty easy to do since there are no stores that do that.  Meat is already 75% water; why would they need to add more?

Here is what ME is talking about....

There's a dirty little secret that not many grocery shoppers are aware of. Many times, cuts of poultry, pork and meat are "enhanced" with a liquid solution that is essentially water and salt. And we're paying for this added weight without even knowing it.

This practice has been going on since the 1970's. Poultry processors, for example, use special equipment to inject chicken with a saltwater broth and binders that enhance its flavor. Hundreds of tiny needles inject a single chicken passing through a conveyer belt. Apparently, adding salt at home is no match for this technology.

Manufacturers who add sodium and water claim that this is what consumers want. But the difference in sodium per serving can be staggering - 500mg of sodium per serving vs. just 75mg unsalted!

Not to mention the fact that we're paying extra money for saltwater.

The worst part is that consumers don't always know if the chicken breast they are about to purchase is "enhanced" or not. This is because there are no strict labeling requirements in this matter.

Clearer labeling would help consumers better understand what they are buying.  But this is not something the injecting processors would like to do, for obvious reasons. The Truthful Labeling Coalition, a lobbying group of poultry producers that don't enhance their products, has been pushing the USDA to demand strict labeling on this matter.

The good news is that the USDA seems to be listening. Yesterday, FSIS (the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA) announced Proposed Rules etter Label Raw Meat and Poultry Containing Added Solutions.

[Exterminator]

Here is what ME is talking about....

That's an out-dated article.  As has been previously mentioned in this thread had you bothered to read it before jumping in with your ill-informed opinion, there has been a federal law in place for several years now that absolutely requires that information on the label.

[me]

That should be pretty easy to do since there are no stores that do that.  Meat is already 75% water; why would they need to add more?

Now that is a figure you picked out of your ass. If meat were 75% water you'd have nothing left after cooking. 

[Exterminator]

Now that is a figure you picked out of your ass. If meat were 75% water you'd have nothing left after cooking. 

You can't be serious.  Are you honestly unaware that most mammals (including humans) are 90% water?  Meat is muscle tissue and muscle tissue is approximately 75% water.  When you remove most of the water from meat, you get jerky.    indeed.

[AbbyTC]

Now that is a figure you picked out of your ass. If meat were 75% water you'd have nothing left after cooking. 

A simple google search, and, ta da!  Look what I found on the FSIS/USDA website.  (It really is simple to look up things, Me.  If you can't do it, ask a librarian!   )  "People eat meat for the muscle. The muscle is approximately 75% water (although different cuts may have more or less water) and 20% protein, with the remaining 5% representing a combination of fat, carbohydrate, and minerals."         "An eye of round roast is 73% water before cooking. The same roast after roasting contains 65% water. A whole broiler-fryer contains 66% water before cooking and 60% afterwards."

[AbbyTC]

You can't be serious.  Are you honestly unaware that most mammals (including humans) are 90% water?  Meat is muscle tissue and muscle tissue is approximately 75% water.  When you remove most of the water from meat, you get jerky.    indeed.

Sorry, Ex, but we aren't 90% water.  From the USGS site:  "Babies have the most, being born at about 78%. By one year of age, that amount drops to about 65%. In adult men, about 60% of their bodies are water. However, fat tissue does not have as much water as lean tissue. In adult women, fat makes up more of the body than men, so they have about 55% of their bodies made of water." 

You are correct with the muscle tissue being about 75% water, which I addressed in a previous post.

I was going to let this run its course with Me, but I figured she'd only argue and not look up anything and back it up with fact. 

[Purplelady1040]

A simple google search, and, ta da!  Look what I found on the FSIS/USDA website.  (It really is simple to look up things, Me.  If you can't do it, ask a librarian!   )  "People eat meat for the muscle. The muscle is approximately 75% water (although different cuts may have more or less water) and 20% protein, with the remaining 5% representing a combination of fat, carbohydrate, and minerals."         "An eye of round roast is 73% water before cooking. The same roast after roasting contains 65% water. A whole broiler-fryer contains 66% water before cooking and 60% afterwards."

Librarians rock!! It is interesting to read all that.

[me]

Librarians rock!! It is interesting to read all that.

I know all this but they do inject and that is a fact. No one was talking about what the natural content of water was in meats and that does not change the fact that more is injected. Now move on and quit trying to purposely twist what I said.