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Food Safety and Inspection
Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700 |
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Food Safety and Inspection
Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700 |
Consumer Education and Information
Slightly Revised May 2000
"What is all this water in the meat and poultry packages?" "There is so much water in my roast that I can't brown it -- it's simmering instead!" "Are they injecting water into chickens?" These are some of the questions that consumers have asked about water in packages of fresh meat and poultry. Here is some background information about water in meat and poultry.
Meat and poultry is composed of muscle, connective tissue, fat and bone. People eat meat for the muscle. The muscle is approximately 75% water (although different cuts may have more or less water) and 20% protein with the remaining 5% representing a combination of fat, carbohydrate and minerals. The percentage of water in meat varies with the type of muscle, the kind of meat, the season of the year, and the pH of the meat. Fat in meats is found both between muscles and within muscles. In both locations, fat contributes to overall flavor and juiciness in meats.
| PRODUCT NAME | PERCENTAGE WATER | |
|---|---|---|
| RAW | COOKED | |
| Chicken fryer, whole | 66% | 60% |
| White meat chicken, with skin | 69% | 61% |
| Dark meat chicken, with skin | 66% | 59% |
| Ground beef, 85% lean | 64% | 60% |
| Ground beef, 73% lean | 56% | 55% |
| Beef, eye of round | 73% | 65% |
| Beef, whole brisket | 71% | 56% |
The amount of water, or moisture, present in meat and poultry may surprise consumers. An eye of round roast is 73% water before cooking. The same roast after roasting contains 65% water. A whole broiler-fryer contains 66% water before cooking and 60% afterwards (see chart above). Leaner meat and poultry contain more protein and less fat, and since water is a component of protein (but not fat), a leaner cut will contain more water.
Hotline callers sometimes comment that today's beef contains more water and also doesn't taste the same. One reason for this is that today's beef is bred to be leaner. Leaner meat naturally contains more water. The fat in meat contributes to flavor, so a leaner cut will taste different than a fattier cut.
When meat and poultry are frozen, the water that is a natural component of all meats turns to solid ice crystals. The water expands when it freezes. The sharp-edged crystals push into the surrounding tissue, rupturing the cells. The water that is outside the cell wall freezes first. As it does, it leeches water from inside the cell walls. When it thaws, the original balance does not return to normal. The thawed product will have lost some of its natural springiness. The water released during freezing seeps out of the thawing meats into the package.
The faster meat freezes the smaller the ice crystals will be. Smaller ice crystals will do less damage. Products that are flash-frozen by the manufacturer will have superior quality to fresh products frozen by the consumer.
Meat and poultry are transported from slaughter and processing plants in refrigerated trucks that can be kept as cold as 1° F. Although they may not be frozen solid, they are in a semi-frozen, or "hard-chilled" state. Any moisture that is in the product is thus held in the tissue of the product.
At the grocery store the products are displayed in refrigerator cases as cold as 28 to 32° F. At this temperature the cells of the product will "loosen up" somewhat and some of the moisture held near freezing temperatures will melt and gradually seep out of the meat. The production of this visible meat juice is known in the industry as weep. It occurs during display of retail cuts, during shipment of wholesale cuts, and during storage of cuts prior to shipment.
In a home refrigerator set at 40° F, even more liquid will seep out of the product. The longer a product sits in the refrigerator, the more liquid will be released from the muscle cells.
Some meat and poultry products are vacuum-packed to prolong the storage times. Products are packaged in air- and leak-proof packages under vacuum, and in some cases a specific gas will be pumped into the package to preserve flavor and quality. But while the package sits in the refrigerator case the vacuum is still in effect, extracting the juices out of the meat. Because these packages are airtight and leakproof, the juices have nowhere to go, so they accumulate in the package. In contrast, the plastic wrap typically used by most supermarkets allows a certain amount of evaporation.
In general, the higher the cooking temperature, the more moisture will be lost in cooking. It is not unusual for a beef roast to lose 1/3 of its original size and weight when cooked at a high temperature or cooked too long.
Poultry is not injected with water, but some water is naturally absorbed during cooling in a "chill-tank," a large vat of cold, moving water. This brings the temperature of the slaughtered birds down to a safe level. During this process, turkeys and chickens will absorb some of the water, but this amount is regulated by USDA: chickens 4 1/2 pounds and under can absorb no more than 8% water above their weight; and chickens over 4 1/2 pounds can absorb no more than 6% water above their weight. For turkeys, the amount of water absorbed ranges from 4.3% to 8% according to the weight of the bird.
There is no added water in any fresh, unprocessed beef. Beef is washed during slaughter, but the small amount of water would be absorbed on the surface of the meat, not bound to the protein or inside the tissue, and would quickly evaporate or drip out. Beef is often ground while partially frozen. Because ice crystals are in the frozen beef there may appear to be more liquid in it.
For additional food safety information about meat, poultry, or egg products, call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854); for the hearing-impaired (TTY) 1-800-256-7072. The Hotline is staffed by food safety experts weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time. Food safety recordings can be heard 24 hours a day using a touch-tone phone.
The media may contact the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at (301) 504-6258.
Information is also available from the FSIS Web site: http://www.fsis.usda.gov
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
For Further Information Contact:
FSIS Food Safety Education Staff
Meat and Poultry Hotline:
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