Processed Meats, Third Edition reflects the changes taking place in the meat processing industry. This updated edition provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles and practices involved in processing meat and poultry into consumer products. The volume covers a range of topics, from the economics of processing to the industry's recent trends and new developments, including new chapters on spices and low fat processed meat. This current edition includes the composition and nutritive value of raw materials and processed meats, various curing agents, methods of curing, smoking, and industry adaptations influenced by consumer demands for convenience and healthy products. While the majority of this work addresses various meat products, such as sausages, canned meat, sectioned and formed meats, cured and smoked products, and restructured meat products, the volume also discusses operations and formulations. Processed Meats, Third Edition is a unique and valuable text for undergraduate students. In addition, professionals in the meat and poultry industries will benefit from the current information found in this new, single-source guide.

This third edition has been extensively revised with new and updated information. In addition, two new chapters have been added: Chapter 12, "Herbs, Spices, and Condiments" covering their uses in processed meat and poultry products, and Chapter 14, "Low Fat and Reduced Fat Meat Products," which discusses the demand for such products with emphasis on the principles involved in production and examples of formulations. The book, as with the two previous editions, is intended as a text for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students interested in meat processing. It is also expected that it will prove useful as a reference for industry and for governmental researchers associated with the meat and poultry industries. A.M. Pearson T.A. Gillett xi 1 Introduction to Meat Processing Meat processing as discussed in this text includes all processes utilized in altering fresh meat except for simple grinding, cutting, and mixing. In the broadest sense, this includes curing, smoking, canning, cooking, freezing, dehydration, production of intermediate-moisture products, and the use of certain additives such as chemicals and enzymes. This definition excludes cutting, grinding, and packaging of fresh meat in retail stores and in homes. In this way, the definition differentiates between (1) those processes that enter into the preservation and manufacture of meat products, and (2) those that alter the form of fresh meat in preparation for consumption.