The present invention provides a composition comprising (a) an antimicrobial material; and (b) an extract obtained from or obtainable from a plant of the Labiatae family, wherein (a) and (b) are different; wherein the composition contains phenolic diterpenes in an amount of greater than 1.0 wt. %, based on the composition, and wherein when the antimicrobial material consists of nisin, the composition comprises carvacrol in an amount of less than 0.075 wt. % based on the composition and carvone in an amount of less than 15 wt. % based on the composition.

An apparatus is provided for curing and more specifically for cold smoking meat or seafood with a blend of filtered smoke from an organic smoking material such as softwoods such as pine or tropical palms such as coconut wood or such as mixed wood sawdust from a sawmill, that are not traditionally used for smoking seafood or meat due to the harsh flavor imparted by their smoke, and unfiltered smoke from a second organic smoking material such as hardwood smoke, or other pleasant flavor-imparting smoke. The blending of filtered smoke from a first organic smoking material such as coniferous softwood, tropical palm wood or mixed sawdust from a sawmill with unfiltered pleasant flavor-imparting smoke from the second organic smoking material reduces the cost of the smoking and curing process and allows versatility in application in terms of preservative properties and flavor imparted to the cured meat or seafood.

The present invention includes a method and meat product made by contacting an emulsion with a meat product for a time sufficient to, wherein the emulsion comprises by weight: 10% to 50% water, 0.1 to 4.0% Quillaja, 0.1% to 8% meat flavoring, 60% to 85% high oleic sunflower oil, meat seasoning, 0-2.0% salt, and optionally one or more stabilizers.

A method of providing a carbonate salt for treatment of meat, comprising providing a bicarbonate salt; heating the bicarbonate salt to convert the bicarbonate salt to a carbonate salt so that the bicarbonate salt is heated to a temperature of at least about 145? F. for a time until detectable production of CO.sub.2 has ceased; and applying the carbonate salt to meat prior to cooking of the meat.

A needle cleaning system that backflushes an inner passage of needles (40) successively with a cleaning solution, such as caustic soda, pressurized air and a washing liquid. The needle cleaning machine has an airtight container (17) closed at the top by a support base (15) with holes (16) where a group of needles (40) are inserted in a position in which an upper portion of the needles, where an inlet opening is located, is outside the airtight container and a lower portion of the needles, where outlet ports are located, is inside the airtight container (17). The container (17) is connected to ducts (19, 21, 23, 25, 27) provided with valves (20, 24, 26, 28) by which the cleaning solution driven by a pump (29), the pressurized air (23) and the washing liquid (25) are supplied to the containers (17).

An apparatus is provided for curing and more specifically for cold smoking meat or seafood with a blend of filtered smoke from an organic smoking material such as softwoods such as pine or tropical palms such as coconut wood or such as mixed wood sawdust from a sawmill, that are not traditionally used for smoking seafood or meat due to the harsh flavor imparted by their smoke, and unfiltered smoke from a second organic smoking material such as hardwood smoke, or other pleasant flavor-imparting smoke. The blending of filtered smoke from a first organic smoking material such as coniferous softwood, tropical palm wood or mixed sawdust from a sawmill with unfiltered pleasant flavor-imparting smoke from the second organic smoking material reduces the cost of the smoking and curing process and allows versatility in application in terms of preservative properties and flavor imparted to the cured meat or seafood.

Provided is a brine solution comprising (a) water (b) salts comprising (i) sodium chloride and (ii) one or more phosphate salts, (c) one or more methyl cellulose, one or more hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, or a mixture thereof, and (d) one or more carboxymethyl cellulose, wherein (b) is present in an amount of 3% to 20% by weight based on the weight of the brine solution, wherein (c) and (d) are present in amounts such that the amount of (c) plus the amount of (d) is 0.2% to 5% based on the weight of the brine solution, wherein the amount of (d) is 15% to 30% by weight based on the sum of the weights of (c) and (d).

Also provided is a method for treating meat comprising bringing said meat into contact with such a brine solution.

A device for producing meat products includes an assembly formed from a plurality of walls maintainable in a fixed relationship to one another during a joining operation, surfaces of the plurality of walls defining work surfaces disposed to surround raw pieces of meat placed therein to be joined. A drive mechanism is configured to drive the assembly, which can form a cooking container such as a cooking box, along a first axis in a reciprocating movement of at least 10 mm along the first axis at frequency of at least 1 Hz and to drive the assembly along a second axis in a reciprocating movement of at least 10 mm along the second axis at frequency of at least 1 Hz, wherein the first axis and the second axis are angled with respect to each other, and the drive mechanism drives the assembly at different frequencies along the first and second axes.

Moisture is retained in cooked or thawed food by adding to the food an aqueous suspension of animal muscle protein obtained from animal muscle tissue. The aqueous suspension is obtained by mixing comminuted animal muscle tissue with a food grade base to form an aqueous basic solution of animal muscle protein. The basic solution is mixed with a food grade acid to precipitate the protein in an aqueous composition. The precipitated protein then is comminuted to form an aqueous suspension of comminuted animal muscle protein.

Methods, packaging, and packets for wet aging meat are described herein. For example, in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure a package for wet aging meat includes a cut of meat having a fat layer portion and an edible meat portion, an adsorptive material to adsorb gases emitted from the cut of meat wherein the adsorptive material is positioned on the fat layer portion, a salt material positioned on the adsorptive material or on the fat layer portion with the adsorptive material, and wherein the cut of meat with the adsorptive material and salt material is sealed in a packaging material to form the package.