It’s all in the package: Ground Beef

I'm not sure why I have this silly face.
I love to take #meatcounterselfies!

A few weeks ago, I made a quick stop in a local grocery store to pick up some stuff for office lunches. Of course, I had to swing by the meat counter for a #meatcounterselfie.

While I was there, I found four different examples of packaging ground beef in the retail case. So, I snapped a few pictures and made a quick facebook post. My post was so popular, I decided to recreate here in the blog.

Foam trays with over wrap.
One of the most popular types of packaging

Foam trays with over wrap. It's kinda like cling wrap. In the world of meat science, we call this aerobic packaging. It's aerobic because it allows oxygen to react with the protein and creates the bright red color consumers like to see.

This packaging type is pretty inexpensive and easy, but the oxygen makes the meat spoil in a couple of days. You also shouldn't freeze meat packaged this way because it's more likely to freezer burn.

Ground beef chubs

We call these packages ground beef chubs. These are 10-pound packages, but you can get chubs in 5-pound, 2-pound, and even 1-pound. They are not always in clear bags like this. Sometimes the chubs are white and only tie at one end.

This beef was packaged in the packing plant. That's good because it decreases the number of people that handled it and lowers the chances that it will spoil. They are essentially a vacuum package, which is why you see that purplish-red color. The vacuum isn't perfect. Sometimes a little air will get in on the ends.

Beef can stay safely in this package for several days, and you can stick it directly in the freezer.My friend, Dr. Casey Owens, commented that she likes to buy ground beef in these big chubs and divide it into 1-pound portions in zip-loc freezer bags. That’s a great way to save some money.

Modified atmosphere package

This is called a modified-atmosphere package. This ground beef was also packaged in the packing plant, so the number of times it’s been handled is decreased compared to foam tray packaging. It's kind of like a vacuum package because it's sealed, but it has a special blend of air in the package to help control the growth of bacteria and give the meat that pretty red color.

I wouldn't use this package to freeze the meat; I would re-package it in a zip-loc freezer bag or a home-vacuum packager.

Vacuum-sealed package

Last is a vacuum sealed package. This beef was packaged in the packing plant and is a completely sealed package. See how it's a purplish-red color?

This package will have the longest shelf-life, and meat will freeze in that package just fine. It's also nice and flat, so it will thaw easily, too.

The meat counter at this store had several different options of ground beef, and, as a meat head, it was exciting to me to see all these different ways to package it represented in one store. But, please know that all these packaging types are safe. Regardless of how the beef is packaged or processed or any claims made on the label, all ground beef should be cooked to 160 F and checked with a meat thermometer.

I have another neat post called 10 things you didn’t know about ground beef or you may enjoy any of my other posts about beef, food safety, or the labels you see on packages.

What questions do you have about things you see in the meat counter?

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Microblog: My American Girl Doll

On my mother's side, I'm the oldest grandchild by several years. One year when I was in college, my grandfather was planing to give all the younger girls an American Girl Doll for Christmas. 
At 19, I was a little old for a doll, so Papaw asked Mother what I needed instead. I was preparing to be on the meat judging team at Texas Tech, and I needed a pair of steel-toed boots to wear to packing plants for practice and competitions. That was my gift that year. 
I still refer to them as my American Girl Doll. All the cousins got Samantha or Kirstin or Felicity. I got steel-toed boots. 
However, almost 18 years later, I'm still wearing my American Girl Dolls. I think about my Papaw just about every time I put them on.

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What’s in a food label? Organic

Jodi and I. We swapped lots of new baby stories.
Mine was 5 months and hers was about 4 weeks.

Last month, I was asked to speak to the Kansas Nutrition Council on Food Labeling. My friend, Jodi Oleen from the Kansas Pork Association invited me, and it was lots of fun to go visit with the nutritionists and dieticians for a day. I also enjoyed a quick trip back to Manhattan, KS, where I went to graduate school.   

My talk was about the labels that we see on meat, milk, and egg packages and while I was working on it, I thought that this would make a great blog series. So, that’s what I decided to do.



Jodi took this one of me giving my talk.
I like to break the ice with pictures
of Vallie in a hair net

When you get to a grocery store, the labels you see can be so overwhelming. It’s so hard to know what they all mean. You have so many concerns when you are buying food. You want to consider your family’s health, the environment, the animals’ wellbeing, and you only have so much money to spend.  

All the labels at the meat counter can be so
overwhelming when all you want to do is find
healthy food for your family that you can afford.

The first label I spoke about was Organic.

In the US, foods labeled ‘Organic’ are regulated under the National Organic Program which is part of the Agricultural Marketing Service of USDA.

To be labeled with the USDA Organic label, meat, milk and eggs must be produced from animals that were raised following strict rules on farms that are subject to audits by the NOP.

Just a few of the regulations for organic farming include:

·         Animals must be fed only Organic feed

·         Animals are only allowed to graze Organic pasture

·         Animals must be allowed to graze 120 days of the year (and they must eat the grass when grazing, not just hang out in the field)

·         They may not be continually confined indoors

·         They are not allowed to be given any growth promoting hormones or antibiotics

·         Healthy animals MAY be given vaccines to prevent illness

These are by no means ALL the rules when it comes to raising organic livestock, but these are the main points. When I have questions about Organic farming I consult Emily Zweber at Zweber farms. Their family has an Organic Dairy in Minnesota, and she writes a great blog about her life as an Organic dairy farmer. She has a whole series about the Myths associated with Organic farming.

In order to use the official Organic label, a food must be made from 95% or greater organic ingredients. If a food has greater than 70% organic ingredients, the label can state that it is made with ‘Organic ingredients.’ If it is less than 70% organic, the organic ingredients are just listed on the ingredient statement.

Organic is not the same as Natural. I’m going to cover the Natural label in the next post in this series, so STAY TUNED!

Although, I’ve blogged about the difference between Natural, Organic, Grass fed, and others, I am planning to repeat some of that information in this labeling series and expand on it. Please let me know if you have any questions about meat labels and I’ll do my best to answer them.

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