Potted meat food product

Potted meat food product, Libby's brand

A potted meat food product or potted meat is a food made using a method of food preservation, canning, consisting of cooked meat product, seasoned, often creamed, minced, or ground, which is heat processed and sealed into cans.

Various meats such as beef, pork, chicken, turkey and variety (nonskeletal) meats are used. It is produced internationally as a source of affordable meat. Its long shelf life and precooking makes it suitable for emergency food supplies, and for military and camping uses, although the high content of fat, protein, and/or preservatives may make it unsuitable for frequent consumption. The final product typically has a spreadable consistency, and typically contains high amounts of salt, as a preservative.

Reputation

Canned meats have a mixed reputation on account of the taste, texture, ingredients, preparation and nutrition. The canning process produces a product with a generally homogeneous texture and flavor. The low-cost ingredients used also affect the quality. For example, mechanically separated chicken or turkey is a paste-like product made by forcing crushed bone and tissue through a sieve to separate bone from tissue. In the United States, mechanically separated poultry has been used in poultry products since 1969, after the National Academy of Sciences found it safe for use. On November 3, 1995, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a final rule in the Federal Register (see 60 FR 55962) on mechanically separated poultry, stating that it was safe to use without restrictions. However, it must be labeled as "mechanically separated chicken or turkey" in the ingredient statement. The final rule became effective on November 4, 1996.

Ingredients

• Armour Star: Mechanically separated chicken, beef tripe, partially defatted cooked beef fatty tissue, beef hearts, water, partially defatted cooked pork fatty tissue, salt, and less than 2 percent: mustard, natural flavorings, dried garlic, dextrose, sodium erythorbate, and sodium nitrite.

• Hormel: Beef tripe, mechanically separated chicken, beef hearts, partially defatted cooked beef fatty tissue, meat broth, vinegar, salt, flavoring, sugar, and sodium nitrite.

• Libby's: Mechanically separated chicken, pork skin, partially defatted cooked pork fatty tissue, partially defatted cooked beef fatty tissue, vinegar, less than 2% of: salt, spices, sugar, flavorings, sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite.

See also

• Potted meat
• Food preservation
• Potted shrimps
• Spam (food)