Why is water added to meat...?

[warp9]

Whenever I buy what I think is an OK bit of meat from main stream supermarkets, I find that for the first part of cooking what appears to be water comes out. The ingrediants list usually confirms this with a certain percentage being added.

The only reason I can think to do this is to rip the consumer off as the meat bought is heavier. Shouldn't this be illegal as I'm pretty sure weights and measures are very strict in other industries? Are there any other reasons why water would be added that I don't know?

Is this common throughout meat supply, would a butcher serving locally sourced, organic meat be any better?

Thanks!

[calibrax]

It's to bulk it up.

Frozen prawns are the worst... they are soaked in a watery solution of chemicals that cause them to swell up to about three times their size before being frozen.

[LordGrover]

If you can justify it, I'd recommend grass fed meat over the supermarket fare. Take a look here to see if you have anyone near to you: click.

[Wadeski]

yes, they are ripping you off. sort of.

There is an allowed amount because there are natural variances, and rather than encourage wierd practices before slaughter to raise water content, it is assumed almost all producers will add water to the max allowed amount, making it an even playing field.

[eybic]

The weights are normally listed as a pre-cooked weight measning it will weigh less once all the crap has leaked out. AFAIK there are no issues as they clearly state that there is water in the meat (chicken particularly)

[otolith]

The supermarkets will claim that this process is to make the meat more juicy and delicious.

Oddly, the meat from my local butcher which has not been fked about with is more juicy and delicious, so I draw my own conclusions.

[warp9]

Wadeski said:

There is an allowed amount because there are natural variances, and rather than encourage wierd practices before slaughter to raise water content,

I'm curious, what natural variances do you mean and what weird practices at slaughter could change water content? Surely the meat sold should be as it comes?

[eybic]

Not all chickens will have breast meat the same weight etc. etc.

[Slyjoe]

We try to buy all of our meat from the local farm shop for this very reason, the chicken and bacon are effectively different products to the supermarket varieties.
Try to fry supermarket chicken breasts and you effectively poach them due to the water coming out.
A meal that would need 4 supermarket bacon rashers needs only 2 farm shop ones.
And as for the price - Its the same as Tesco "Premium" products.
Aaand all of that aside - I think they add pork protien to the chicken water to stop it seeping out, some kind of Frankenmeat.

[stackmonkey]

Legalised rip-off.

First time I used my local farm shop, I used my normal 3 rashers of bacon to make a single sandwich and ended up toasting twice as much bread as the bacon hadn't shrunk and wouldn't fit in one sandwich.

Much tastier too.

[skeggysteve]

Few years ago I watched a bit of beef go through a machine that injected water into it.
The bit of beef that came out was over twice the size!

[Slyjoe]

Heston inject his water into breasts

[Uncle Fester]

When bacon sizzles it’s the water boiling off.

If the manufacturer is boasting about how well their bacon sizzles it really means they are trying to convince you that buying their expensive, watered down product is in your interest.

[CHIEF]

Having 'Ahem' worked in a chicken factory when I was 17 I can confirm this is exactly the reason why it's injected with water and that is to make it weigh more.

We had a machine which the chicken portions were tipped onto where it was sprayed and injected with water. After this process they would be plonked on a conveyer and carried under a tunnel that pumped it with liquid nitrogen gas which froze them solid in the time it took to travel the 30 or so foot on the conveyer. All that lovely water that was injected was trapped inside and frozen.

I swear the difference in weight was double afterwards.

So all those people who shop at Iceland who think they're getting a bargain when they buy frozen chicken portions are actually paying for ice.

[warp9]

So it's as I thought, just to bulk it out and rip us off.

This along with various additives and preservatives is really starting to put me off mass produced supermarket meat and I'm increasingly liking the idea of eating less but of a higher quality.

Thanks to LordGrover for the web link to organic suppliers, does anyone by chance happen to know any decent butchers around south Birmingham?!

[mcflurry]

Hope they don't use any hosepipes for the water, as they've been banned

[Goughie]

Water use in meat products is a common practice, especially with cheaper, more price sensitive items like chicken and bacon. There are strict limits on what you can call certain foods and the labelling of the same, dependant on a whole host of ingredients, however - not just water. That no-one in the general public knows or understands these protocols is all to the better for processors who are absolutely hammered to within an inch of making a profit by the major multiples.
As for seafood, some shellfish is dipped in sodium metabisulphite to stop blackening of the head (or the head area in a headless prawn). It does also have the effect of allowing the meat to take up water, which is abused for other products (frozen scallops immediately spring to mind). Typically you can tell if seafood has been "dipped" because it can be overly sweet to the taste. Sulphites should be listed on the ingredients list, too (check your bag of economy scampi next time you're looking to buy some).
The real issue you need to worry about with frozen seafood however, is the glaze - a ice layer put onto the fish to prevent freezer burn. Your packaged fish should give you a gross and net weight - look for the net weight to see exactly how much you are buying. Most supermarkets sell products by their net weight - typically, wholesale markets, travelling vans, etc do not.