One of the biggest quality issues in poultry and meat products is moisture loss: Proteins that lack moisture not only taste inferior but also have lower yields. Using marinades is one such solution because they help protein retain moisture while also adding flavor through additional seasonings.

To ensure marinades lock in as much moisture as possible, processors often add phosphates to their marinades. Using phosphates alters the pH of the protein, increasing its water-holding capacity beyond what salt can do alone. Phosphates also affect protein solubility, dissolving some of the muscle that restricts water update.

However, some phosphates can give protein a soapy flavor or a bleached color. Plus, there is growing concern that the overuse of phosphates in food processing is impacting consumer health. 

Health Concerns

Our bodies only absorb between 40 to 60% of naturally occurring phosphates in food. When phosphates are added to processed foods, however, we absorb more than 90%.  According to the Journal of Renal Nutrition, the prevalence of phosphates in processed food has led to a significant rise in the total phosphorus we absorb daily, from 500 mg/day in 1990 to more than 1000 mg/day in 2010.

It’s especially a concern among older consumers. While healthy kidneys filter out excess phosphates, patients suffering from kidney failure cannot and run the risk of further kidney damage without making dramatic changes to their diet. People with aging pets are also advised to feed their dogs or cats kidney-friendly, low-phosphate pet food to prolong their lives.

Source: Sunsweet Ingredients

Phosphate Alternatives

It’s not easy to replace the efficacy of phosphates with one ingredient, but there are alternatives. In a 2012 study published in the Journal of Food Science, a study conducted by the University of Arkansas Fayetteville Food Science Department tested the efficacy of prune ingredients in marinades.

Students vacuum-tumbled chicken breasts with marinades containing different prune ingredients at different amounts and tested them against chicken marinated in sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP).

Sensory evaluations showed that the chicken breast marinated with 1.1% fresh plum concentrate (a concentrate made from the juices of fresh prune plums before they are dried) was the closest to the STPP-marinated sample.

In the end, the study concluded that prune ingredients could be used in place of phosphates to enhance the water-holding capacity of poultry. Fresh plum concentrate, dried plum powder, and dried plum puree are also all approved for use as binders in meat and poultry processing according to the USDA’s Table of Safe and Suitable Ingredients for binders. 

Sunsweet Ingredients in Meat and Poultry from CropSource International on Vimeo.

Cast Study: Added Benefits

Prune ingredients also come packed with antioxidant phenolic compounds, especially neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids, which suppress the formation of warmed-over flavor in place of additives such as BHA and BHT.

Plus, using fresh plum concentrate in meat and poultry marinades results in better-looking products (whether raw or cooked), since proteins never have a product a bleached or white appearance.

“The meat stays moist and even browns better,” says Rick Perez, corporate chef for Sunsweet Ingredients. This enhances char marks or grill marks if a product is sold fully cooked.

It’s easy to use fruit concentrates like fresh plum concentrate. “You can vacuum tumble, but the other option is injections,” says Perez. “A simple needle injection will work as well. There are no particulates, so it’s a great solution.”

Though if purge is a concern in proteins sold to consumers raw, dried plum powder can be mixed into a spice rub to soak up extra liquid in the package, Perez advises.