Meat Glue

[Tri2Cook]

Folks, I strongly encourage you all to read both the actual article at cooking issues, as well as the comments on the article. The notion that one could glue together scraps of meat and that the result is "undetectable" is completely absurd. No one confuses a coarse-ground sausage with whole muscle: transglutimanase is not some magic voodoo potion that aligns muscle strands and mysteriously produces a whole-seeming muscle from various parts: it's just a particularly powerful bonding agent. If you make a piece of meat from scraps, it's going to be obvious that it's a reconstruction, just like a sausage.

Similar point to what I started typing as a response when I saw this subject come up again... but presented in a much more constructive tone than where I was headed before deciding against it. Thanks for being the voice of reason.

[andiesenji]

Folks, I strongly encourage you all to read both the actual article at cooking issues, as well as the comments on the article. The notion that one could glue together scraps of meat and that the result is "undetectable" is completely absurd. No one confuses a coarse-ground sausage with whole muscle: transglutimanase is not some magic voodoo potion that aligns muscle strands and mysteriously produces a whole-seeming muscle from various parts: it's just a particularly powerful bonding agent. If you make a piece of meat from scraps, it's going to be obvious that it's a reconstruction, just like a sausage.

The segment that was shown on the Channel 9 KCAL news showed a chef taking stew meat, treating it with the stuff, wrapping it in plastic and putting it in a fridge for several hours. There was also a note that shrink wrapping it could help with "forming" before chilling.

A package that had previously been prepare and packaged was unwrapped, sliced into ovals that looked exactly like the "normal" Chateaubriand steaks next to it and then both were cooked in side by side frying pans.

The treated "steaks" did not fall apart and when finished and cut looked as one would expect a steak to appear.

The news segment was ten minutes, quite long for most news bits on local stations. However KCAL has a news hour at noon and then starts at 2:00 P.M with a full hour - 3:00 to 3:30 and back again at 4:00 to 5:00. Unless there is a Laker game, the news resumes at 8:00 p.m. and goes to 11. So they have more time to spend on stories that they think are important.

[Chris Hennes]

A package that had previously been prepare and packaged was unwrapped, sliced into ovals that looked exactly like the "normal" Chateaubriand steaks next to it and then both were cooked in side by side frying pans.

The treated "steaks" did not fall apart and when finished and cut looked as one would expect a steak to appear.

(Emphasis mine) There's the rub: take one bite of that "Chateaubriand" and the illusion that it is a solid piece of meat evaporates in an instant. This is media fearmongering, pure and simple.

[Dave the Cook]

The segment that was shown on the Channel 9 KCAL news showed a chef taking stew meat, treating it with the stuff, wrapping it in plastic and putting it in a fridge for several hours. There was also a note that shrink wrapping it could help with "forming" before chilling.

A package that had previously been prepare and packaged was unwrapped, sliced into ovals that looked exactly like the "normal" Chateaubriand steaks next to it and then both were cooked in side by side frying pans.

The treated "steaks" did not fall apart and when finished and cut looked as one would expect a steak to appear.

The news segment was ten minutes, quite long for most news bits on local stations. However KCAL has a news hour at noon and then starts at 2:00 P.M with a full hour - 3:00 to 3:30 and back again at 4:00 to 5:00. Unless there is a Laker game, the news resumes at 8:00 p.m. and goes to 11. So they have more time to spend on stories that they think are important.

I haven't seen the KCAL segment, but in the link that opened this topic, it was pretty clear to me which "steaks" were which -- not the least because of the perfect roundness of the fabricated item (thanks in part to the wrapping). There were also easily discernable seams, even in the low resolution of TV-over-internet.

It's unfortunate, but what news programs consider "important" isn't always in alignment with the public interest.

[lesliec]

In the past week meat glue has been raised as an 'issue' in New Zealand as well: article 1, article 2.

As Chris H mentioned above, nobody's going to believe several bits of stewing steak stuck together is a Chateaubriand - certainly after they bite it. You're only going to get a decent reconstructed steak by starting with smaller pieces of decent meat, which would possibly otherwise be discarded.

It's reasonable to expect the use of transaglutaminase to be noted on the labels of packaged meats, but I'd hate it to be banned before I've had a chance to play with it myself!

[andiesenji]

I would notice the difference and so would many people. But not everyone is as discerning as you and I.

I've known people who buy meat that is past the sell by date because they just don't pay attention.

One of my neighbors, who worked as a lab tech for forty-some years, has no sense of smell. A couple of years ago I was at her home when she opened a package of ground beef that looked fine but from across the room it smelled bad to me.

I looked at it and there appeared to be two layers of wrap on the bottom, only one on top. It looked like the package had been re-wrapped with a new sell-by date. She had purchased it as one of the discount "4-less" markets.

They wouldn't take it back because she couldn't find her receipt.

There are markets who are willing to fool the public, not all do but there are some. A little knowledge is not always a bad thing.

[Tri2Cook]

A little knowledge is not always a bad thing.

Knowledge is never a bad thing. It's the people spreading their version of knowledge by telling the part of the story that backs what they want to say and ignoring the rest that get me grumpy. I'm not referring to those here who are simply discussing it from all angles, I'm talking about scare-mails and sensationalist news stories.

[Chris Hennes]

The food world is rife with examples of one food being passed off as another: so a little caution is always warranted. But I too object to the ludicrous sensationalist tone of the articles. Many people can't tell the difference between ANY cuts of meat. Slap a stick on a rump roast that says "filet mignon" and I bet you can convince people to pay $20/lb for it. There are a hell of a lot better ways of cheating your customers than mucking around with meat glue.

[Mjx]

The food world is rife with examples of one food being passed off as another: so a little caution is always warranted. But I too object to the ludicrous sensationalist tone of the articles. Many people can't tell the difference between ANY cuts of meat. Slap a stick on a rump roast that says "filet mignon" and I bet you can convince people to pay $20/lb for it. There are a hell of a lot better ways of cheating your customers than mucking around with meat glue.

Agreed. I'm just wondering whether the labelling is regulated in any way. Purely academic curiosity.

[JHeald]

It appears as though excess transglutaminase is a culprit in Cystic Fibrosis. From the abstract of the linked article, I would suspect that inhaling a significant amount of powdered transglutaminase would result in pulmonary inflammation, not lung tissue being glues together.

. . . .

The transglutaminase discussed in this article refers to that which occurs endogenously in the tissues of the respiratory system, and to aberrant patterns arising from mutation, and not to an exogenously derived product:

'. . . .tissue transglutaminase (TG2), a multifunctional enzyme critical to several diseases, is constitutively up-regulated in CF airways and drives chronic inflammation.'

(SUMOylation of tissue transglutaminase as link between oxidative stress and inflammation., Luciani et al., J Immunol. 2009 Aug 15;183(4):2775-84. Epub 2009 Jul 22)

Taking reasonable precautions with culinary transglutaminase makes sense (as others have pointed out, like any particulate matter, it is likely to irritate the lungs if it is inhaled), but it should not be confused with the tissue transglutaminase.

I wasn't disputing the fact that inhalation of trangslutaminase would cause pulmonary irritation, but rather the idea that it would "glue" lung tissue together.

I was not aware that "culinary transglutaminase" was a bacterial product, although I think that ignoring any data or information on human transglutaminase is rather silly: the enzymes act very similarly and more importantly, it is important to consider the enzymes that counter-act transglutaminase activity.

Edited April 18, 2011 by JHeald (log)

[jorach]

No one confuses a coarse-ground sausage with whole muscle: transglutimanase is not some magic voodoo potion that aligns muscle strands and mysteriously produces a whole-seeming muscle from various parts

Glad someone finally said it, though the more I think about it I doubt we'll see a "beef tenderloin" made out of ex-tartare I wonder when we'll see "beef tenderloin" made out of two tails aligned and glued.

[bmdaniel]

No one confuses a coarse-ground sausage with whole muscle: transglutimanase is not some magic voodoo potion that aligns muscle strands and mysteriously produces a whole-seeming muscle from various parts

Glad someone finally said it, though the more I think about it I doubt we'll see a "beef tenderloin" made out of ex-tartare I wonder when we'll see "beef tenderloin" made out of two tails aligned and glued.

I think the latter is already fairly common, at least based on some hospitality industry literature I have seen.

[natasha1270]

Recent discussions of TG made me curious so I did a little online digging and found this regulation (dated 2001) http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/01-016DF.htm

Which leads me to suspect that TG can probably be found in any meat product labeled as containing binders or enzymes.

[jsmeeker]

Dave Arnold weighs in on "Meat Glue" over at the Cooking Issues blog

http://www.cookingissues.com/2011/05/20/the-trials-of-transglutaminase—the-misunderstood-magic-of-meat-glue/

[TheNoodleIncident]

so ive seen mention of "meat glue" in the MC threads (called Activa, or something similar? used in the friend chicken recipe), and was curious about it....and then randomly was forwarded the following article/video about "meat glue" and its less honest use in commercial butchery.....though i agree that mislabeling cuts of meat is dishonest and should not happen, they make the glue itself out to be poison.....can others comment on how this stuff is similar to the MC stuff and their overall opinions on the article? how else have people been using meat glue in their own homes/restaurants for more honest purposes?

http://healthfreedoms.org/2011/03/29/industry-wide-use-of-meat-glue-sticks-together-scraps-of-meat-to-sell-you-prime-cuts/

(let's keep in mind that news sources tend to sensationalize stories and cause unnecessary panic, but i'd like to hope that it is based at least partly on fact)

[therippa]

This should answer most questions and address most controversies...

http://www.cookingissues.com/2011/05/20/the-trials-of-transglutaminase%E2%80%94the-misunderstood-magic-of-meat-glue/

Edited May 24, 2011 by therippa (log)

[emannths]

Is there any indication that anyone is actually mislabeling meat? If so, the blame lies with the labeler, not the gluer. If someone sold a hamburger and called it a ribeye steak, getting angry at the meat grinder is a little misguided.

[TheNoodleIncident]

good link....mostly confirmed what i suspected

id like to hear about other ways you've used the glue

[Msk]

Harvard Science on Itunes

Look at the Wylie Dufresne lecture for some background.