May 5, 2010

Vitiva and FutureMeat create moisture retention for poultry

Vitiva, together with its new Dutch meat processing partner FutureMeat, has created a new ingredient to improve moisture retention in chicken meat.

Vitiva CEO Ohad Cohen said, "we will be launching several natural products targeted at specific sectors of the meat industry. Our products will be phosphate-free, thus offering an innovative and natural way of treating meat."

The new ingredient is also described as a combination of a mineral-rich sea-salt and Vitiva's VivOx ingredient, which comes from rosemary and is already used for a number of purposes in the meat sector, including extending shelf-life.

According to Cohen, the new ingredient is a cost-effective way of binding ingredients, as it provides better yield--as much as 20% compared to non-injected poultry and brings anti-rancidity function along with it.

It is also heat-stable in processing, keeping its antioxidant activity at temperatures as high as 240 degrees Celsius. The company also claims it can be used at lower injection rates, meaning less liquid and more retention of natural meat juices.

Although Israel's Vitiva has built its business around natural plant extracts (especially rosemary) and counts the meat sector among its main customers, FutureMeat formulates herb extracts with applications in the fish industry.

In addition to developing new ingredients, the partner's plan for FutureMeat to also offer a consultancy service, auditing processors' current production techniques and offering advice on how to reduce costs, increase yield, reach higher production efficacy without compromising on quality.