2023-03-15 18:23:56

The main ingredient of the low-price beef and mutt

The main ingredient of the low-price beef and mutton roll is pork. The seller: generally can't eat it

"Mengxia Ranch instant-boiled beef roll/mutton roll is 500g, the original price is 32 yuan, and the member price is 29.9 yuan." Mr. Cui, a Beijing citizen, was attracted by the promotion of a low-price beef roll when shopping at the supermarket. After carefully checking the product label, he found that the first ingredient in the so-called "beef roll" ingredient list was pork.

The reporter's recent visit and investigation found that it is not uncommon to add water, edible salt, food additives and even pork, duck and other meat sources of "conditioned meat slices" and "composite meat slices". Compared with the pure beef and mutton of 60 or 70 yuan per kilogram, the retail price of the prepared beef slices is generally less than 40 yuan, and the wholesale price is less than 25 yuan. There are even "fat beef rolls" of 16 yuan per kilogram and prepared duck rolls of less than 10 yuan per kilogram sold online by businesses. According to the seller, this kind of duck meat roll is seasoned with butter and used as a hot pot with red oil "generally can't be eaten". Low-price beef and mutton rolls are made of pork!

The main ingredient of the low-price beef and mutton roll is pork. The seller: generally can't eat it

Experts pointed out that the product is nominal "beef roll", but pork accounts for the highest proportion, which is suspected of misleading consumers. Industry insiders revealed that the reason why the price of the prepared beef and mutton slices is low is that the meat source mostly uses the low-price imported minced meat scraps.

The main ingredient of the low-price beef and mutton roll is pork. The seller: generally can't eat it

The quality of the prepared beef and mutton slices is inferior to that of the original cut beef and mutton slices, and they are sold to the canteen on the construction site. The low-end catering channels such as Feiniufan, Spicy Hot Pot, etc., and the customized products of supermarkets have also begun to increase in recent years, mainly to meet the consumption needs of different purchasing power.

According to the General Principles for the Labeling of Prepackaged Food in the National Food Safety Standard (GB 7718-2011), the ingredients in the ingredients list should be arranged one by one according to the decreasing order of the amount added when manufacturing or processing food; The ingredients with the addition amount not more than 2% can be arranged in descending order. This also means that the pork content in the "beef roll" is greater than beef. Low-price beef and mutton rolls are made of pork!

Another product sold by the supermarket is named "Batublin Lamb Compound Instant Slices" produced by Zhengzhou Yuquan Food Co., Ltd. The product type is marked with "quick-frozen prepared food", but the first place in the ingredient list is pork (containing fat), followed by mutton (containing fat), drinking water, edible salt, food additives, etc.

They are also quick-frozen conditioning products, such as "Jingmiao lamb slices", "Yangfang Yiguang lamb slices" and "Sanquan mutton rolls", which are printed with the prompt words of "dish products", "frozen conditioning" or "quick-frozen prepared raw products" near the product name, and the first part of the ingredient list is mutton, without other meat source ingredients. Among them, "Yangfang Yiguang lamb slices" also clearly indicates the content of mutton.

The nominal "beef roll" and "lamb composite instant pork slices" are pork in the first place of the ingredient list. Is this illegal? On March 8, the relevant person in charge of Jiangxi Weiyue Food Co., Ltd. responded to the Beijing News that its product label met the standard, with the prompt of "hot pot" in the name, without directly writing "beef roll". Although pork is the first in the ingredient list, it only represents a certain content of pork. One of the purposes of adding pork is to reduce the price, and some consumers do not like the fishy smell of pure beef and mutton. "Our products also have pure beef, and the prices are different, which will be determined according to the needs of consumers."

"The name is clearly marked, it is' composite instant pork slices', and the ingredients in the ingredient list are clearly marked." The relevant person in charge of Zhengzhou Yuquan Food Co., Ltd. replied to the Beijing News that the text information and ingredients of its products have been tested by a third party, and comply with the food safety law. As for the content of pork and mutton in the product, it is called "basically half". The reason why the specific content is not marked is that when the two kinds of meat are mixed and rolled together, the percentage cannot be accurately marked. "The meat roll with pork ingredients is targeted at a certain consumer group, and the pure beef and mutton slices will sell for 70 or 80 yuan per kilogram". It is recommended that consumers check the ingredient list when purchasing. Low-price beef and mutton rolls are made of pork!

In the supermarket channel, the retail price of 500g pure beef and mutton roll is generally more than 50 yuan, and the price of Australian imported beef and mutton roll can even reach 100 yuan, while the price of conditioning beef and mutton slice is generally lower, the price of 500g is more than 35-40 yuan, and the promotion price of individual products is less than 30 yuan. In the wholesale market, the wholesale price of a catty of pure beef and mutton slices is about 33 yuan, while the price of conditioned beef and mutton slices is less than 25 yuan. On the e-commerce platform, the price of a "fat beef roll" sold by a food company in Chengdu, Sichuan is even as low as 16 yuan/jin.

The main ingredient of the low-price beef and mutton roll is pork. The seller: generally can't eat it

The wholesale price of conditioned beef and mutton rolls sold in the wholesale market shall not exceed 25 yuan/jin. Guo Tie, chief reporter of the Beijing News, photographed

The main ingredient of the low-price beef and mutton roll is pork. The seller: generally can't eat it

The price of "fat beef slices" sold by e-commerce platform one merchant is only 16 yuan/jin. Screenshot of e-commerce website

According to the "wholesale price index of agricultural products 200" published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, as of March 7, the price of beef and mutton in the wholesale market of agricultural products nationwide was 77.33 yuan/kg and 68.77 yuan/kg respectively. How can the price of some conditioned beef and mutton rolls be lower than the wholesale price of pure beef and mutton?

"It's also pure beef for 16 yuan per kilogram, without duck meat. We have channels to buy it at ease." Mr. Yang, the head of a food company in Chengdu, said that the reason why the price of fat beef roll is low is that "the meat parts used are different, and the meat is processed with minced meat", with salt, water, soy protein and other ingredients, "There are also more than 20 yuan and more than 30 yuan per kilogram in the store. The difference is that the more than 30 yuan beef rolls are basically zero added and are cut from the original meat.".

"This box (500g) sells for 30 yuan, and the price can be 18 yuan." On March 7, Mr. Wang, who is engaged in the wholesale business of beef and mutton rolls in a wholesale market in Beijing, pointed to a "conditioned lamb slices" in the store, "This kind of conditioning meat slice is to grind the minced meat together and then slice it into bricks, and add food additives. The original cut meat slice is cut from the whole meat slice, without water or conditioning, and directly cut it cold. Here, the normal price of the original cut mutton slice is 33 yuan per box, and the price can be given 25 yuan." The main material of the low-price beef and mutton roll is pork!

According to Mr. Wang, the reason why the price of sliced beef and mutton can be so low is that some enterprises use imported minced meat as raw materials. "There are two concepts of imported meat. One is that the price of imported mutton, leg and other whole meat will be a little higher than that of domestic domestic meat after being imported through formal trade channels; the other is that the leftovers that foreign consumers do not eat, such as fat on the side of beef ribs, steak and other parts of the meat, are also regular imported products, but the cost is very low. Foreign manufacturers even spend money to find someone to deal with them, and they are generally processed into meat rolls and meat fillings after being imported into China."

"Even if it is 16 yuan/kg of seasoned beef rolls, the business may have a profit of 2 yuan. Although the seasoned beef slices here are cheap, the profit is much larger than the original cut beef slices." Mr. Wang said.

Low-end catering has become the main channel

Although the price is low, most businesses do not recommend consumers or community groups to purchase the conditioned beef and mutton slices.

Mr. Wang, the wholesaler, told the Beijing News that the price of his meat slices for the supermarket was 27 yuan/box (500 grams), and the supermarket could sell them to the terminal for 39 yuan/box. Although the profit is high, community group buying is usually a "one-time deal" with few repeat customers. "I don't recommend recuperated meat. This kind of meat slice is mainly used in the canteen of the construction site, as well as in making fat beef rice and Spicy Hot Pot. It tastes a bit snappy and crispy. The quality of the original cut meat slice is better, and more customers come to me for the original cut meat slice."

According to Mr. Wang, in addition to the canteen on the construction site and low-end catering, the proportion of processed meat slices in the supermarket channels is also increasing. On the one hand, it is due to the high profit of products, on the other hand, it is also related to the increased investment of manufacturers in packaging and publicity. "For this kind of meat roll packaging for supermarkets, the cost is 2 yuan, while the simple packaging box costs only a few cents. In addition, there are spokesmen advertising, customers like to buy it."

The reporter of the Beijing News noticed that on the e-commerce platform, many businesses have won the bid to annotate the channel use on the page of the processed beef and mutton products they sell, which confirmed Mr. Wang's statement. For example, the "high-quality beef" in the category of conditioning sold by a business in Sichuan has the key words of "hot pot beef, roast beef, pickled beef, catering business"; A business in Shandong has also marked "hot pot ingredients, barbecue, birthday pot, catering, commercial" and other purposes for its seasoned beef rolls; A business in Jiangsu marked "supermarket quality" on the head of its "fat beef roll" product.

From the perspective of product ingredients, there are three main types of prepared beef and mutton slices on the market: one is beef and mutton as the main ingredient, only adding water and salt; The other is to add soybean protein and food additives on this basis, and the common ingredients in food additives are sodium bicarbonate, sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate and other water retention agents; Another category is to add pork, duck and other meat ingredients to beef and mutton, as well as water, soy protein and food additives.

Mr. Wang told the Beijing News that some beef and mutton rolls were marked with water, salt and other ingredients. In fact, they were not prepared meat, but the original cut meat was usually washed with salt water during processing to remove dust and impurities on the surface, which is not equivalent to the "water injected meat" in the mouth of the people. According to the regulatory requirements, the ingredients of water and salt should be marked in the ingredient list, "otherwise, the license will not be issued".

Yunwuxin said that the water retention agent added in the beef and mutton meat has two main functions: first, to ensure that the salt water content is high and the meat slices taste tender; Second, for businesses, after the product moisture is maintained, the output rate will be higher, which is what the common people call "weighing". The main function of soybean protein added in some products is to absorb water and increase weight, making the meat taste more tender. "High quality meat, whether it is cut or not, has a relatively high price, and not everyone can afford it. Conditioned meat can meet different consumption needs, and the quality of meat products cannot be judged only from the ingredient list."

"Our company has a lot of high-end products, and some products will be customized according to customer needs. The original sliced meat is similar to the sliced meat directly cut from fresh beef, which is the best on the market." Mr. Guan (alias), the head of a meat company in Shandong, said that the main purpose of conditioning the water, salt, food additives and other ingredients in beef and mutton slices is to reduce costs, and can also play a role in regulating taste and taste. Conditioned beef and mutton slices are also classified into quality grades, which is difficult for ordinary consumers to judge.

[P] occurs when meat source is fake. In fact, low-price beef and mutton is no longer an industry secret. Some businesses even use duck meat, fox meat and other meat sources to fake.

In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration of Zhangqiu District of Jinan City carried out a special spot check of mutton products in all links of production, circulation and catering in the whole district, and entrusted a third party organization to carry out DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) testing of mutton products. The results showed that 8 batches of meat source DNA in 124 batches of products were unqualified, some mutton slices were not detected with sheep source components, suspected of fraud, and others were detected with other meat source components.

In December 2022, the People's Court of Shuyang County, Jiangsu Province, publicly announced a case of counterfeiting beef and mutton rolls. The court found out that Mr. Yang, Mr. Wang and others purchased equipment such as meat cutters and vacuum packers in July and August 2021, set up food processing dens, and added beef, mutton flavor powder and other materials to the frozen duck plate meat purchased, processed the duck plate meat into meat rolls, pretended to be beef rolls or mutton rolls, and sold them in registered shops on several e-commerce platforms, with an amount of more than 2 million yuan.

"Our factory divides the processed beef and mutton slices on the market into edible and inedible, delicious and unsavory. The inedible ones include not only meat other than beef and mutton, but also messy ingredients. Most of them are sold to people who are greedy for cheap, but not many of them," Mr. Guan said.

"We also have duck meat." The customer service of a food company in Chengdu, Sichuan, said that this kind of duck meat roll is mainly made of duck meat and butter, and is used as a hot pot with red oil. "Generally, it can't be eaten." Therefore, this kind of duck meat roll is sold well in the local market. "It is rarely used in the north, and the white pot is not suitable.". Subsequently, the customer service recommended a prepared beef slice with a price of 32 yuan/kg, and said that both red and white pots were applicable. When asked why there is no link to this duck meat slice in the store, the customer service replied, "The duck meat is not available (link), and we will recommend it if the customer needs it."

The main ingredient of the low-price beef and mutton roll is pork. The seller: generally can't eat it

An e-commerce business sells duck meat rolls mixed with butter, and claims that they can't be eaten as hot pot with red oil. Screenshot of conversation

Compared with the 16 yuan/catty cooked beef slices in the store, the price of this kind of duck slices blended with butter is lower. "If you cut 9.5 yuan/catty for mail, you can't break it if you cut 8.5 yuan/catty". As for whether any catering enterprises take this kind of duck meat slice as beef slice, the customer service said that the duck meat slice is a regular product, and the ingredients are truthfully marked on the label. "When selling, we should make it clear to customers that we can make beef flavor rolls, but the ingredients should be written well."

Ms. Zhang, who has been engaged in the meat processing industry for more than ten years, told the Beijing News that according to her understanding, before 2020, 70% of beef and mutton slices on the market were compounded from different meat sources, and some manufacturers did not truthfully mark them, "In the early stage, the quantity of imported beef and mutton was small, and the price of domestic beef and mutton was between 37 yuan and 40 yuan per kilogram. After buying slices, from the manufacturer to the dealer to the supermarket, every layer in the middle should have a profit, and it would cost 70 yuan or 80 yuan per kilogram to sell to the supermarket, so the industry made the most complex meat slices." From 2020, with the epidemic at home consumption, consumers paid more attention to the product label, and the complex beef and mutton roll products began to decrease, At present, the market share is less than 20%. "We have gradually shifted to beef and mutton sources in Inner Mongolia since 2021. I personally do not advocate the company to make composite products, but there are still customer needs."

It is worth noting that even the original sliced meat has room to reduce costs. Mr. Wang, the wholesaler, revealed that taking the original cut mutton roll with the price of 25 yuan per kilogram, "usually use 5 and a half kilograms of meat and 2 and a half kilograms of mutton to make 8 kilograms of meat roll", "when processing, the fat and lean meat are sandwiched together for quick freezing, and will not be dispersed. The oil is cheap, and the mutton itself comes with it, but some parts are added later, and the price of normal beef and mutton slices cannot be reduced."

Ms. Shi, the head of the quick-frozen food enterprise, believes that the frozen beef and mutton rolls that consumers often buy on the market at present are mostly original cut meat rolls and conditioned meat, and different purchase scenarios are generated according to the consumption and quality requirements of consumers for beef and mutton rolls. The meat rolls produced under the standard requirements should meet the sensory requirements and have the proper form. The prepackaged food should also consciously protect the consumer's right to know, clearly identify and truthfully remark. Low-price beef and mutton rolls are made of pork!