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Where does your Meat come from and what is Meat Quality?
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The word “Quality” is vastly used by all kinds of companies in their marketing strategies. Let us explain how we at Metzger Meat Products define the word “Quality”. Meat Quality can be defined in terms of consumer appreciation of texture and flavor, and food safety, which includes both the health implications of composition (unsaturated vs. saturated fat) and microbiological properties. The quality of meat can be influenced by factors such as feeding and management of the animals during their growth as well as handling and processing techniques and composition of meat products.
It all starts on the farm.
In today’s market forces production of livestock is driven on
cost and hence quantity, rather than on quality. Metzger Farms and
Metzger Meat Products however work together to produce livestock
through selective breeding, whereby individuals with superior traits
are used to breed the next generation. The selection criteria are
rather based on health traits and quality than on quantity. The diet and nutrition as well as management of livestock is an important part of production. Metzger Farms practices responsible agriculture, producing animals raised in an environmentally and welfare-friendly system. Feeds are produced on farmland which is managed by land stewardship values, building up biological fertility in the soil to produce crops, caring for the health of the land for future generations. Diets do not permit any use of animal by-products or growth hormones. Through management practices and an excellent health status of the herd, antibiotics are not used. Therefore we can guarantee our meat to be free of antibiotics and medications. Short transport distances of animals help to limit pre-slaughter stress responses that can affect quality in negative ways. Black Angus Beef is purchased from local family farms, keeping a constant dialog with producers valuable to the enhancement of quality. Metzger Meat Products: The Link between Farm and Consumer. From slaughter to finished product the foundation of good quality is hygiene and process control. Metzger Meat Products implemented “GMP” Good Manufacturing Practices and “HACCP” Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles. Every step of production is controlled in such a way that all possible food safety hazards are addressed and dealt with. Traceability of raw materials including ingredients, monitoring of individual processes, cooking and cooling are done electronically to eliminate errors and manipulation of records. The tenderness of meat is influenced by many parameters such as breed, age, muscle fibers, connective tissue and so on. Aging is an important factor of final tenderness. To achieve maximum tenderness our Black Angus Beef is aged in coolers for a period of time determined by the age of the animal. Processed meats are formulated and made combining traditional ways and modern technology, excluding the use of non meat proteins, starches, flowers and flavor enhancers.
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