Tag: Red Meat

Differences Between Red Meat & White Meat With Examples

Post author By Akinrodola Owanikin
Post date 1 November, 2015
No Comments on Differences Between Red Meat & White Meat With Examples

People have started digging for the meat that falls under the category called red meat and which ones are white meat. The queries increased recently when the WHO revealed that processed meat has been found to cause cancer and there is a possibility that red meats cause it too.

So, many people want to know what red meat is, so that they can avoid it and what white meat is so that they can eat more of that and reduce the risk of cancer. This post is going to list the meat of animals that fall under white and red.

What Is Red Meat, What Is White Meat?

There are actually two definitions that may be used — the common definition and the nutritional definition, if I may call it that way.

The common definition refers to red meat as meat that is red when raw and not pale in color when cook. White meat is pale before and after cooking.

As fas as nutritional science are concerned, red meat is any meat that has more myoglobin than white meat, white meat being defined as non-dark meat from chicken (excluding leg or thigh) or fish. So, choosing white or red meat depends on the definition you choose.

According to the USDA, all meats obtained from mammals (regardless of cut or age) are red meats because they contain more myoglobin than white meat chicken or fish. Another difference is that white meat is a leaner source of protein (lower fat) but contains lesser heme Iron, Zinc and Vitamins A, D, E and K (fat-soluble vitamins).

In one article, in which we talked about the red juice that drips out of meat when you buy them fresh. We mentioned in that article that the red fluid is myoglobin and explained the relationship it has with blood.

Examples of White Meat and Red Meat

This largely depends on the definition you decide to follow, which ultimately depends on the purpose of searching for examples of red and white meat. Some types of meat can be classified under one definition and red, under another.

If you are digging for health reasons, I think it is best to just follow the USDA approach. Meats obtained from mammals with the red color prior to cooking are considered red meat because they contain more myoglobin.

To use examples that we are familiar with, white meat is generally classified as poultry (chicken and turkey), while red meat typically refers to beef, pork, and lamb.

Are you in doubt? What class particular meat falls under? Ask in the comment.

Tags Red Meat, White Meat

Food Safety

WHO: Processed Meat Now Confirmed To Cause Cancer

Post author By Oladipupo Abioye
Post date 1 November, 2015
No Comments on WHO: Processed Meat Now Confirmed To Cause Cancer

On that day, I glued fastidiously to the television in my office as I have promised myself to follow the ministerial nominee screening by the Senate from beginning till the end, it was just as if the Deputy Senate president knew what was going on in my mind. He asked the University Don about the approach he would adopt to curb the spread of cancer among Nigerians.

He further insinuated that the publicity for HIV had overshadowed cancer; however cancer is gradually taking the lead position in the number of deaths recorded annually. Coincidentally, as I plan writing on how canned meat could lead to cancer, the World Health Organisation, WHO recently affirmed that consumption of processed meats is associated with cancer.

In actual fact, WHO via its cancer research unit stated that processed meats are now classified as carcinogenic to humans based on the numerous studies that had linked the food type to specifically colon and colorectal cancer.

Many readers would question; what exactly is a processed meat? The health umpire defined processed meat as any type of meat that is salted, cured or smoked to enhance its flavor or preserve it. Processed meat generally contains pork or beef, but may also contain poultry. Without doubt all the canned meat products on the shelves of supermarkets fall into this category.

This claim by WHO did not go well with everyone. A leading group of antagonists of WHO’s pronouncement; North American Meat Institute and The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association who believe that the data had been doctored to ensure a specific outcome. It was also emphasized by one of their top ranking officers that scientists who issued the report were split on their decision to make an explicit link between red meat with cancer.

According to estimates cited by the WHO, about 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide can be attributed to diets that are high in processed meat. While the value is only a small fraction of the 8.2 million deaths caused by cancer in 2012, it is imperative not to discard the necessity of adhering to this claim.

As a practicing nutritionist, I would advise you to stay clear of processed canned meat, reduce your read meat intake, consume protein from fish source and ensure you eat a well balanced diet without unnecessary addiction to a particular food. The rate at which people are diagnosed with cancer is unimaginable. Excessive consumption of this type of diet will definitely put you at high risk of cancer.

ALSO READ: What Is Processed Meat? and Red Meat vs White Meat?

Tags Processed Meat, Red Meat

Food Processing

[REVEALED] How You Slaughter Animals Makes Meats Tender or Tough

Post author By Ahmed Ogundimu
Post date 4 June, 2015
2 Comments on [REVEALED] How You Slaughter Animals Makes Meats Tender or Tough

Did you know that the way you slaughter your animals contributes to how tough or tender the meat would end up? Did you also know that if you slaughter your animals the proper way, you end up with meat with good quality that lasts longer. Well, now you know.

There are other factors that contribute to the quality and toughness of meat – some of which are, the age of the animal before slaughter, how the carcass is handled after slaughter and the part of the animal the meat is cut from. Some parts have more specialized muscle because they were used very much more than others. I will talk about these in other posts.

Beef is the meat from Cattle, see names for goat, sheep, others

I am emphasizing on this slaughtering because, as consumers, it may be the only thing we could control; that is even if we buy the live animals to slaughter ourselves.

So, let’s explain what causes toughness of meat?

In this post, I am going to be showing to you, how the slaughtering method you adopt can affect the quality of your meat. I will try to put up an article on the proper methods of slaughtering that we should adopt very soon.

Firstly, stress before slaughter in particular causes meat to be tough. The best meat cuts on an animal can be made tough by stress, and an older animal can have relatively tender meat if it is docile, handled and slaughtered without it becoming stressed. If we could reduce the stress we subject the animals to during transportation yarding, handling and slaughtering, we will end up getting a meat that is not only tender, but also has a longer shelf life.

If we still remember our high school biology very well, we would recall that the energy required for muscle activity in live animal (including humans) is sourced from stored sugars (glycogen) in the muscle. In any healthy and animal that is not stressed, the glycogen content of the muscle is high because it was not used up. Animal that is stressed will require sugar for movement activities, using a lot of stored glycogen.

After the animal has been slaughtered, the glycogen in the muscle is converted into lactic acid, and the muscle and carcass becomes firm (rigor mortis). This lactic acid is necessary to produce meat, which is tasteful and tender, of good keeping quality and good colour. If the animal is stressed before and during slaughter, the glycogen is used up, and the lactic acid level that develops in the meat after slaughter is reduced. This meat is of inferior quality because it has less pronounced meat taste and dark in appearance.

This kind of meat is less acceptable to consumers and has a shorter shelf life due to the abnormally high pH-value of the meat (6.4-6.8).

To conclude, when next you want to slaughter any animal for whatever purpose (festivals, parties, etc.), make sure you rest the animal well enough and give it water to drink before you slaughter.

See why you should stop buying meat the way you presently do…

Tags Meat, Red Meat

Knowledgebase

Is The Red Juice From Raw Red Meat Blood? Is It Safe?

Post author By Ahmed Ogundimu
Post date 14 May, 2015
No Comments on Is The Red Juice From Raw Red Meat Blood? Is It Safe?

Have you ever gone to the local butcher to purchase meat and on your way home you notice some red liquid dripping out of the meat? Have you ever been bothered if this is safe or not? is it blood? And considering the fact that zoonotic diseases could be in blood, what should you do? I am going to answer these questions in this post. So, this post is going to be short and straight to the point. This could make a lot of people extremely uncomfortable.

So, what is this red juice that drips from meat?

Let me tell you categorically that this juice is not blood. We can call this liquid a relative of haemoglobin in the blood. While haemoglobin gives the blood its red colour (due to presence of iron), myoglobin is what gives meat its dark red colour pigment.

This juice that drips out of the meat is actually water, sarcoplasm and trace amounts of myoglobin. This myoglobin also has iron it and that is why we get dark brown outside and grey inside – the iron atom is now in the +3 oxidation state. Myoglobin is not found in the blood stream of animals. The only time myoglobin is found in the bloodstream is when it is released after an animal sustains a deep muscle injury.

During slaughter, most of the blood goes out and only a small amount is left. Animals like mammals have more myoglobin and that is why they are called red meat. On the other hand animals like chicken have very small amount myoglobin, less red and hence the name “white meat”. The more myoglobin a meat has, the redder the meat.

Conclusively, this juice that comes out from fresh or raw meat is not blood. It is myoglobin and most of it are even lost when you cook the meat. It is therefore safe to consume in food.

Soon, I will write about more differences between red meat and white meat and which is better in terms of safety and the nutrient they give to out body. Some people also have concerns on whether it is safe to use the water in which the meat is being cooked for further cooking. I will answer all that soon.

ALSO SEE: What Are The Nutritional Values In Cow Skin’s (Ponmo)

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Tags Meat, Red Meat