Shapes of Things to Come
Processors seek formed products that resemble the real thing
by Larry Aylward, managing editor
Like an artist who strives for the perfect composition in an award-winning oil painting, meat processors and packers seek similar qualities of precision and texture in the forming of ground beef patties and ersatz whole-muscle meat products.
Improved texture has been the goal of processors and their suppliers since the advent of forming. That may never change.
Consistent, accurate portion weight is also a priority for processors and packers, according to suppliers. And high-speed equipment requiring less maintenance is a key in overall forming operations.
"The ultimate [forming machine] would be one that is extremely dependable," notes Tom Kegley, production manager for Seattle-based MacDonald Meat Co., a producer of ground beef patties.
Quality is also a crucial component in forming. It's simple: If consumers perceive a product, such as a box of frozen patties, to be of high quality, uniform and damage-free, then they will be anxious to acquire it, Kegley points out.
"[Processors] want whole-muscle texture in their products," says Keith Wietharn, vice president of national accounts for Overland Park, Kan.-based Marlen Research Corp. "They don't want a product that looks like it has been reconstructed."
Not new, but current
It's not new technology, but Formax Inc.'s Ed Suska claims his company's filling system is helping to combat E. coli 0157:H7. With the system, a meat patty is comprised of a series of vertical columns of meat strands as opposed to a traditional patty, which is made of horizontal layers, Suska notes.
"The old standard fill patty is like a piece of plywood," says Suska, executive vice president for the Mokena, Ill.-based company. "It's put together in layers. Our system created these little columns, which allows the cooking process to take place more rapidly and evenly.
"The heat can penetrate up through these vertical columns easier and more evenly than it could the old horizontal flat-type fill," he adds.
The possibility of a pink patty center dissipates because of the even cooking process, which lessens the chance of E. coli contamination, Suska points out.
"We wanted to come up with a patty that would cook faster and had what we consider a homemade texture," he says. "That's when we realized we had to have these vertical columns in the patty. "Inadvertently, we realized we had good texture, a faster cook, and a more even cook with the elimination of the red band down the middle of a thick patty."
Dependable forming equipment means less people handling product. The human touch creates enough heat to activate bacteria in product such as ground beef patties, points out Lloyd Carlson, quality assurance manager for Greeley, Col.-based Monfort Inc.'s Portion Foods Division.
"Let the [forming] equipment do everything," he adds.
Coming soon
In time, AEW North America's value-added forming technology will be applicable to the red meat industry, says Mike Strauss, president of the Wheeling, Ill.-based company. Currently, the technology is being used in the fish industry.
"Certainly, it has applications in the poultry industry," Strauss notes. "But the red meat industry will take some time because the products are so different."
In the fish industry, AEW's process consists of reshaping a fish stick and its particular volume through pressure.
"If you have a 100 gram fish stick and you want a 100 gram filet, we have a tool-and-diemaker set in the shape you want it to be-with all the topography and shape in three dimensions that you would expect from the natural counterpart," Strauss claims.
The rectangular stick is then loaded into the die. The pressure is applied, but the temperature remains the same. The stick turns from solid to liquid via the pressure. The liquid product then flows into a cavity.
"When the pressure is turned off, the product is frozen and it looks like a fish filet," Strauss says.
The finished product retains its muscle structure, and no fillers or binders are used in the process. The process could enable the poultry industry "to produce a true chicken nugget where there are no fillers or binders," Strauss adds.
Application in red meat is currently limited because its muscle structure is more defined than in fish.
"We can't improve the quality of a product; we can't reorient it," Strauss says. "We're not saying we can make something tender that was tough before. But we think the [process] will have wide ranging consequences."
Marlen Research offers a machine that can assist in weighing procedures among three-dimensional products, Wietharn claims.
"We can adjust the weight on the machine on a fly," he says.
Plate thicknesses must be changed on conventional-type formers, but not on Marlen's equipment, Wietharn claims.
"On [Marlen's] machine the user can manually make an adjustment that will regulate the weight accordingly so an accurate weight can be acquired," he says. "And with the [system's] centered metal discharge, the user can get a well-shaped contoured product. The only drawback with the system is [lack of] speed."
Insurance purposes
Computer technology has invaded the forming segment of the U.S. meat industry in the past five years. Automation in forming has been popular in Europe for some time.
"The Europeans jumped on this [technology] long before the Americans did," Suska points out.
More U.S. processors are getting involved in computerization, notes Formax's Loren Hutchinson, adding that some Formax customers are adding computers to old equipment.
Formax also offers the F-19 and F-26 forming machines equipped with internal computers.
A computer can perform a number of functions, Suska adds. "It gathers a myriad of information. Quite honestly, some of the information may never be used, but it's there for the taking," he says.
"In any forming system with a number of key components, including fryers, cookers and freezers, it's important to keep tabs on the performance of those components," Suska points out.
Computerized forming machines can track production rates, speed and product temperature. They have the capability to remind users that it's time for a certain part of the machine to undergo maintenance. And if the machine malfunctions, a particular code will flash to tell the user where to go to correct the malfunction.
"Over the years, without this information, users were never sure where the weak links were," Suska says. "Now they can gather the information and monitor the down time."
Weak links are related to expense, another concern of processors. There's the cost of changing plates with forming machines that are geared toward high production of hamburgers, Kegley points out.
Expense and the E. coli threat may force some processors to study their options.
"I can envision that there will be fewer processors making their own ground beef. They will buy it from larger manufacturers," Kegley adds. "As technology and hardware becomes more sophisticated, it will get to the point that if you're going to be in the hamburger business, you had better be in it in a big way or your not going to be able to be competitive."