Processed Meats, Third Edition reflects the changes taking place in the meat processing industry. This updated edition provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles and practices involved in processing meat and poultry into consumer products. The volume covers a range of topics, from the economics of processing to the industry's recent trends and new developments, including new chapters on spices and low fat processed meat. This current edition includes the composition and nutritive value of raw materials and processed meats, various curing agents, methods of curing, smoking, and industry adaptations influenced by consumer demands for convenience and healthy products. While the majority of this work addresses various meat products, such as sausages, canned meat, sectioned and formed meats, cured and smoked products, and restructured meat products, the volume also discusses operations and formulations. Processed Meats, Third Edition is a unique and valuable text for undergraduate students. In addition, professionals in the meat and poultry industries will benefit from the current information found in this new, single-source guide.

The RACCP (hazard analysis critical control point) concept for food products was an outgrowth of the US space program with the demand for a safe food supply for manned space flights by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The original work was carried out by the Pillsbury Company under the direction of Roward E. Bauman, who as the author of chapter 1 describes the evolution of the RACCP system and its adaptation to foods. The second chapter discusses the adoption of RACCP principles and explains how they fit into the USDA and FDA meat, poultry and seafood inspection systems. The next chapter discusses how RACCP principles can be extended to production of meat, poultry and seafoods, a most important area involved in producing a safe food supply. Chapter 4 deals with the use of RACCP in controlling hazards encountered in slaughtering and distribution of fresh meat and poultry, while chapter 5 discusses the problem - both spoilage and hazards - involved in processing and distribution of meat, poultry and seafood products. Chapter 6 covers the entire area of fish and seafoods, including both fresh and processed products from the standpoints of spoilage and hazards.

Inedible meat, poultry and fish by-products are major contributors to the profitability of the slaughterers and processors of all types of muscle food. Although the by-products per se make important economic contributions to the productivity of the industries, their importance varies widely between classes and for different species. As important as this may be, the utilization of the otherwise waste by-products has become even more crucial from the standpoint of protecting the environment. Hence, the editors decided that a book dealing with inedible meat, poultry and fish by-products would be useful not only to slaughterers and processors, but also to those involved in research and teaching. Focusing on the advan tages of the useful inedible products and methods involved in their pro duction could very well lead to new and better uses for by-products as well as in improving the environment. As in past volumes of this series, the authors are leaders in their respective fields of discussion. Their expertise provides not only a back ground on present industrial practices but also areas and means for improving the production of by-products.

The Advances in Meat Research series has arisen from a perceived need for a comprehensive coverage of certain topics that are pertinent to meat and meat products. We, the editors, have made the decision to concentrate on a series of related topics that are deemed to be impor tant to an understanding of meat, both fresh and processed. It is our sincere hope that by focusing upon areas related to meat science that researchers who contribute to this volume can not only update those involved in academia and industry but also promulgate facts that may lead to solutions of meat industry problems and aid in improving the efficiency of various associated industrial processes. We have chosen to devote Volume 1 to electrical stimulation in view of the widespread interest in its meat industry applications. Although the classical study by A. Harsham and Fred Deatherage was published in 1951, it was not accepted by the meat industry owing to a number of factors that are discussed in the text. These investigators did, however, lay the groundwork for modern electrical stimulation of carcasses by their detailed studies on the effects of varying current, voltage, fre quency, wave forms, and time. The basic information provided by these workers saved a great amount of experimentation by those who subse quently "rediscovered" electrical stimulation.

Muscle and Meat Biochemistry teaches the different concepts and topics under the eponymous subject. The book covers the gross and detailed composition and structure of muscles and the relationship of the nervous system with the muscular system; muscle cell differentiation and growth; proteins of the thick filament; and the molecular structure and enzymatic activity of myosin. The text also discusses the proteins found in the thin filament - actin, troponin, and myosin; skeletal muscle growth; protein metabolism; and fiber types. The book also encompasses cardiac and smooth muscle; sarcoplasmic proteins; the connective tissues - collagen, elastin, and ground substance; and the postmortem changes during conversion of muscle to meat. The text is recommended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, as well as for scientists who would like to know more about muscle biology, muscle physiology, and meat science.

The central theme for this volume was chosen since consumers have great interest in purchasing low fat, low salt and reduced cholesterol meat, poultry and fish products. As in past volumes, experts in the field have been chosen to write chapters with emphasis on their breadth of knowl edge in each specific area. Efforts were also made to obtain authors from different countries in order to give the book a worldwide perspective. Chapter I stresses the nutritional and sensory properties that meat, poultry and fish products make to healthful diets and discusses consumer concerns about these products. Chapter 2 covers dietary recommendations in major consumer nations, along with data from food composition tables and the dietary contributions of meat, poultry and fish to meeting dietary needs. Chapter 3 discusses the labeling of low and reduced fat/salt prod ucts which, although written mainly from the US viewpoint, may serve as a model for labeling in other countries. Chapter 4 reviews the rationale for reducing fat-energy levels in muscle foods, problems encountered in their production and how these may be solved. Chapter 5 discusses the scientific basis for reducing the salt (sodium) content in food products and the health benefits derived from lowering salt intake. Methods of reducing the cholesterol content of these animal products is reviewed in Chapter 6.