Microbiological safety of food is of paramount importance to everyone involved from the farmer to the consumer. Healthy animals in a clean condition make a good start. The use of well established hazard analysis techiques help technical or quality managers in the food industry make sure that hazards that would reduce the microbiological quality of meat are controlled. There are a number of unpleasent bacteria which can proliferate in badly handled meat and that can lead to food poisoning. One with a very high profile is E. coli O157. This is an organism carried in the gut of healthy cattle but which can have a devastating effect on young children and the elderly. Making sure hamburgers are very thoroughly cooked is one way to minimize its unpleasant effects. For further information click HERE.
 
Despite the cheaper cuts of meat being used to make mince for burgers, the meat itself is the single most expensive item in the meal. Considerable interest has been expressed in developing meat substitutes and meat extenders which allow the meat content to be reduced without this being noticed by the consumer. Texturised vegetable protein is obtained from protein-rich Soya beans and is formed into meat-like pieces which can be mixed with real meat to make it go further.
 

With as many as 6% of people now vegetarian the range and quality of vegetarian foods has increased rapidly in recent years. Sometimes innovative and technologically complex solutions are needed to make foods which can satisfactorily substitute for meat in terms of taste, colour, texture and nutritional content.