Taste-free antimicrobial agents for meat

TWO NEW natural and taste-free ingredients from Naturex help prevent spoilage in meat products. The antimicrobial solutions kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast and molds in food matrices. Their use is essential in the modern food supply chain, and particularly in the meat industry, to ensure products stay fresh and safe to eat on their journey from the factory to the consumer’s plate.

Processed meat products have an influential role in the worldwide preservatives market. Commonly used antimicrobials in the meat industry include sodium lactate, sodium acetate and nitrites. However, many consumers view these with suspicion and are increasingly seeking out healthier products with labels that are cleaner, clearer and easier to understand.

Cleanatis™ is a new antimicrobial range that provides the perfect solution to balancing the need for effective prevention of microbial food spoilage, answering consumer expectations for clean label and naturalness.

Cleanatis™ M1 and M2 – developed to fight Listeria and Salmonella

Launching at the IFT17 Food Expo in Las Vegas (June 26-28, 2017), Cleanatis™ M1 and Cleanatis™ M2 are synergistic blends of plant extracts that prevent the growth of Listeria and Salmonella, respectively, in the meat matrix.

Both offer a viable clean label alternative to artificial preservatives, which are increasingly unpopular among shoppers, as well as to existing natural antimicrobial solutions, such as essential oils, which are often difficult to use because they impair product taste.

In tests, independent experts measured the performance of Cleanatis™ against that of standard antimicrobials in fresh ground meat. Cleanatis™ M1 inhibited growth of Listeria more effectively than classic antimicrobials (sodium lactate and sodium acetate). Cleanatis™ M2 was more effective than sodium lactate for controlling the growth of Salmonella.Furthermore, Cleanatis™ M1 and M2 protected color and taste and had no detrimental impact on the food matrix.

Catherine Bayard, Category Manager for Food Preservation at Naturex, said: “Many consumers are no longer willing to accept products that contain ingredients that sound like they are from a chemistry set. Increasingly, this trend is taking hold in the meat industry, which has previously presented a huge challenge. For safety reasons, antimicrobials are a necessity, but the natural alternatives available until now have been inadequate. Cleanatis™ M1 and M2 completely change all that. They offer meat producers a genuinely effective natural solutions to help prevent product spoilage, but without the drawbacks of existing natural antimicrobials, which often have a major impact on the organoleptic properties of the end-product.

Naturex will showcase the Cleanatis™ range at Booth #2457 during IFT17. Its experts will be on hand to explain how Naturex’s program of scientific research and deep knowledge of plants is helping food companies to develop solutions to their formulation problems in relation to shelf life.