The increasingly lengthier distance and time between slaughtering and consumption has created a demand for a variety of ways to safeguard meat and extend shelf life. Particular shelf-life extending ingredient groups have benefited from these demands.
Salt, an ancient method of preserving meat, continues to be the most popular method of extending shelf life, says Kantha Shelke, food scientist and principal of Chicago-based Corvus Blue LLC, a food science and research firm. “Salt absorbs excess moisture from the meat and poultry products and renders them unsuitable to microbes, prevents spoilage and thereby extends their shelf life,” she explains. “Meat and poultry processors are reaching out for black salt, pink salt and smoked salts as replacement for plain salts and are appealing to those who want taste and variety. Because people are avoiding salt across the board, some processors are replacing some of the salt with sugar to affect net reduction in water activity and the resulting preservative effect.”