Beef jerky, also known as air-dried beef, is an essential office snack for contemporary young people. In ancient times, beef was pickled and dried into beef jerky, which had the characteristics of portable and nutritious, and was known as "Genghis Khan's marching food".
Beef is rich in high-quality protein, low fat content, containing a variety of minerals and amino acids needed by the human body, after being cured and dried, beef jerky maintains the chewability of beef, forming a unique flavor, and long-term deterioration, favored by young people.
Nowadays, there are more beef jerky brands on the market than the varieties of cattle in China, which makes consumers dazzled and unable to start. Should you pursue a brand? Or do you believe that influencers grow grass?
▲The picture comes from the Internet
In February 2021, Consumer Reports collated the quality sampling of beef jerky published by the national and provincial market supervision and administration bureaus (including the former Food and Drug Administration) from January 2016 to December 2020.
The sampling results showed that the regulatory authorities found a total of 164 batches of unqualified beef jerky, and the reason for the unqualified was mainly microbial contamination, of which the total number of colonies exceeded the standard, accounting for more than 70%.
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"Stone Buddha Cave" is frequently listed on the unqualified list
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In terms of brand, the beef jerky produced by The Shifodong Beef Jerky Factory in Zunyi City, with the trademark Shifodong, has the highest number of unqualified times, up to 11 batches. Among them, 10 batches exceeded the total number of colonies: spiced beef jerky (240g/bag, 2018/01/09), beef jerky (spicy flavor) (48g/bag, 2018/04/11), Shifodong five-spiced beef jerky (135g/bag, 2017/12/20), Shifodong five-spiced beef jerky (135g/bag, 2017/11/18), Shifodong beef jerky (satay flavor) (135g/bag, 2017/11/20), Five-spiced beef jerky (135g/bag, 2017/3/20), Beef Jerky (Spicy Flavor) (135g/Bag, 2017/9/8), Spiced Beef Jerky (135g/Bag, 2016/12/7), Shifodong Beef Jerky (198g/Bag, 2017/2/5), Granulated Beef Jerky (Spicy Flavor) (238g/Bag, 2016/08/24); 1 batch of unqualified labels: Shifodong Spicy Beef Jerky (240g/Bag, 2016/4/11), the producer's contact information is incorrect, Problems such as miscalculation of nutrition labels.
The total number of colonies exceeding the standard is more prominent is Shifodong spiced beef jerky (135g/bag, 2017/11/18), the total number of colonies of the 5 test results are 14000, 15000, 17000, 160000, 50000 (unit: CFU/g), the standard stipulates that the same batch of 5 test results shall not exceed 100000CFU/g, and up to 2 times more than 10000CFU/g.
The total number of colonies is indicative of microorganisms, not pathogenic bacteria. It is mainly used to evaluate the cleanliness of food and reflect whether the food meets the hygiene requirements in the production process. The total number of colonies exceeding the standard indicates that individual enterprises may not strictly control the sanitary conditions of the production and processing process as required, or the cleaning and disinfection of packaging containers are not in place; it may also be related to the lax sealing of product packaging and improper control of storage and transportation conditions. The growth and reproduction of microorganisms in food can lead to food spoilage, and people may cause vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms after eating spoiled food, endangering human health and safety.
In addition, beef jerky of Jinshan Yamei, Quan Xiang Zhai, Mei Yu'er, Golden Horn and other trademarks has also been unqualified for many times.
According to public information, 7 batches of beef jerky produced by Jinshan Yamei Beef Jerky Processing Factory in Wenchang, Hainan Province, were found to exceed the standard of benzoic acid and its sodium salt: Jinshan Yamei beef jerky (200 g/bag, 2019/10/28), Jinshan Yamei beef jerky (200 g/bag, 2019/8/22), Jinshan Yamei beef jerky (426 g/bag, 2019/6/26), Jinshan Yamei beef jerky (spicy) (200 g/bag, 2019/9/24), Jinshan Yamei beef jerky (five-spice) (200 g/bag, 2019/9/26), Jinshan Yamei beef jerky (spicy) (426 g/bag, 2019/9/22), Jinshan Yamei beef jerky (five-spice) (426 g/bag, 2019/9/24), the detection value ranged from 0.0859g/kg to 0.0984g/kg, and the standard stipulates that beef jerky must not use benzoic acid and its sodium salt.
Benzoic acid and its sodium salt are a common preservative in the food industry, which has a good inhibitory effect on mold, yeast and bacteria. The safety of benzoic acid and its sodium salt is high, a small amount of benzoic acid is not toxic to the human body, can be excreted with urine, and will not accumulate in the human body. Long-term excessive intake of foods with excessive benzoic acid may have an impact on liver function.
Five batches of beef jerky produced by Quanxiangzhai Beef Jerky Factory in Guanzhou Town, Yanhe Tujia Autonomous County, were unqualified in the total number of colonies: yellow beef jerky (spicy flavor) (250 g/bag, 2019/11/4), beef jerky (spicy taste) (454 g/bag, 2019/5/12), yellow beef jerky (spicy flavor) (250 g/bag, 2019/5/12), yellow beef jerky (spicy taste) (250g/bag, 2017/2/1), Yellow beef jerky (spicy flavor) (250 g/bag, 2017/1/1); 1 batch of sorbic acid exceeded the standard: yellow beef jerky spicy flavor (500g/bag: 2016/05/01), the measured value was 0.14g/kg, which was 1.9 times the standard limit (≤0.075g/kg).
Sorbic acid and its potassium salt can effectively inhibit the activity of mold, yeast and aerobic bacteria, and can also prevent the growth and reproduction of harmful microorganisms such as botulinum toxin, staphylococcus, salmonella, etc., and maintain the flavor of the original food. Sorbic acid can be absorbed by the body's metabolic system and rapidly decomposed into carbon dioxide and water, leaving no residue in the body. However, if you eat foods with sorbic acid in excess for a long time, it may have a certain impact on the body's bone growth, kidneys, and liver health.
The beef jerky produced by Qitai County Jiajun Food Processing Co., Ltd. with the trademark of Mei Yu'er also appeared unqualified in 5 batches, of which 3 batches were unqualified in the total number of colonies: Mei Yu'er beef jerky (spicy flavor) (200g/bag 2016/9/17), beef jerky (five-spice) (100g/bag, 2016/7/18), Meiyou'er beef jerky (cumin flavor) (100 g/bag, 2016/7/4), Mei Yu'er beef jerky (five-spice) (200g/bag, 2016/5/24); 1 batch of lead and chromium content exceeded the standard by 18.6 times and 2.3 times: Mei Yu'er beef jerky (cumin flavor) (50g/bag, 2018/4/23); 1 batch of fat content exceeded the standard by 2.3 times: Mei Yu'er beef jerky (five-spice) (200g/bag, 2016/5/24).
Lead (Pb) is a toxic heavy metal that is extremely harmful to the human body, so lead and its compounds will cause harm to nerve, hematopoietic, digestive, kidney, cardiovascular and endocrine systems after entering the body, and if the content is too high, it will cause lead poisoning.
Chromium (Cr) is widely present in the natural environment, is an essential trace element of the human body, and is also a very toxic heavy metal. Excessive intake of chromium-containing compounds into the body may cause kidney damage, trigger changes in kidney function and enzyme and protein content in the urine, and in severe cases may lead to kidney necrosis. Contamination of food by chromium must therefore be prevented and controlled to ensure food safety.
The spicy beef jerky with the trademark Golden Horn produced by Chongqing Jinxing Co., Ltd. has also been unqualified three times, and the total number of colonies has exceeded the standard, and the production batches include 2020/3/13, 2019/7/4, and 2019/5/9.
Beef jerky can also be called air-dried beef, drying is the key process of beef jerky production, different drying methods can make the meat dry taste period, shelf life, flavor, taste produce different results. The two common drying methods commonly used in factories are air drying and hot air/oven drying. The disadvantage of air drying is that the product quality is unstable and susceptible to air pollution; the disadvantage of hot air/oven drying is that the heat transfer efficiency is low, and the drying inside and outside the product is uneven, resulting in the color of the finished product, the taste is worse than that of the air-dried product, and it is often necessary to add additional natural colorants and tender treatment to improve the physical properties of beef jerky, but this drying method can reduce air pollution to the product.
How to choose a good and inexpensive beef jerky?
Consumer Reports has compiled a list of national and provincial market supervision and administration bureaus (including the former Food and Drug Administration) with more than 5 qualified sampling inspections in the second half of 2020 for consumers' reference.
It can be seen that although some brands have had the problem of unqualified, there are also a considerable number of qualified batches on the list. Consumers can refer to many parties when making choices.
Secondly, consumers can also refer to the following methods when purchasing:
1. Choose regular manufacturers and brands;
2. Try to buy packaged products, bulk products need to pay attention to the production date and eat as soon as possible;
3. Labels on packaged products such as: food name, ingredient list, net content and specifications, name, address and contact information of producers and/or distributors, production date and shelf life, storage conditions, food production license number, product standard code and other content that needs to be marked;
4. It is generally not recommended to choose beef jerky with higher humidity, the greater the humidity, the easier it is to breed bacteria, which is not conducive to preservation;
5. Generally choose high-energy beef jerky;
6. The color of beef jerky should not be too bright.
Finally, Xiaobian also has a small suggestion: beef jerky as a small snack, eating more can easily lead to fire, and beef is red meat, and it is not recommended to eat too much. In general, it is okay to relieve hunger, but it is not okay to eat more.
【Special Statement】: The original data used in this article are from the official websites of market supervision departments at all levels of the state, and the data is objective and true. If the relevant sampling result data is verified and confirmed by the relevant government departments and the facts of the change, please contact this journal in time.