In meat and poultry products, phosphate use as an ingredient is multifunctional. Phosphates most notably aid in water binding. In turn, phosphates can increase cook yields, which is valuable from an economic standpoint. Phosphates also raise the pH, which is part of their water-binding function, but additionally contribute to stabilizing the color of a product. Phosphates also have an antioxidant function, can contribute to antimicrobial protection and aid in protecting flavor changes over a slightly longer period of storage time.
Still, interest in removing phosphates from products continues because of the growth of natural and organic meat and poultry products, because phosphate does not quality for use in these products. While the natural and organic meat and poultry market makes up a small portion of total sales, a waterfall effect has occurred with processors’ interest in phosphate removal continuing to conventional products trying to clean up their labels, says Joseph Sebranek, Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University in Ames.