On store shelves, you can often find a product that looks like minced meat, with the IMO label. Due to its low cost, it is in demand among buyers. Today we will find out what mechanically deboned poultry meat is made of and is there any use in it?
What is MMO?
This is a semi-finished product. It is made from the remains of a bird's loin, bones, tendons. The ingredients are placed in a special machine that grinds them to a paste. There are more fats in MMO than proteins. The danger of this product is that during processing, large bone fragments may appear in the mass, which go unnoticed during the preparation of dishes.
Can an MMO be useful?
If the product is manufactured according to the state standard and stored appropriately, then there is no particular danger in it. According to GOST, mechanically deboned meat should not contain other meat components (except for poultry), sodium glutamate (E621), sodium nitrite (E250), large bones in an amount of more than 0.3% of the bulk, and even table salt.
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But as practice shows, some manufacturers often add E250 preservative so that the product has a more presentable color and does not deteriorate too quickly.
According to the rules, bacteria die with proper cooling without the use of various additives from class E. Chilled MMO should be stored no more than three days (not frozen). And frozen for no longer than two months.
The likelihood of adding various extraneous components to such products is high, since not all outlets sell substrates on time. According to the regulations, mechanically deboned poultry meat must be sold on the territory of the area where it was produced, since it is a perishable.
Parts of chickens, turkeys and chickens are taken as the basis for the similarity of minced meat. Bird bones should not be stored for more than a day, otherwise pathogenic bacteria will develop.
Of course, there is nutritional value in such meat. But it is an order of magnitude lower than in chicken or turkey.
You can avoid purchasing this product. But in one form or another you will come across it anyway. Due to its pliable consistency, mechanically deboned poultry meat is often added to sausages, cutlets, dumplings and stuffed ready-made pancakes. Now watch a few videos:
This is called mechanical deboning of meat. If you read “mechanical deboning” as part of a product, then you should at least imagine what it is and decide for yourself whether it is worth it or not. This is not shown on TV, and if it is shown, it is only at night, because horror films are for young children. The videos were shot quite legally, at large meat processing enterprises. But more often it happens like this:
Now, after all I've seen, I want to show you what sausage is made of. I'll tell you a secret, I haven't bought it for a long time:
There will not be much harm if you buy MMOs at trusted retail outlets that supply only fresh produce. And it's better to opt for chilled meat rather than frozen.