HENDERSON, Colo. – Birko, a leading provider of food safety solutions for the protein industry, will present research results highlighting the effectiveness of its patent pending antimicrobial intervention Beefxide® as a technical poster at the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo July 13-16 in Chicago.
In research conducted jointly by Birko, Stone Meats, Ogden, Utah, and Utah State University, Logan, Utah, Beefxide® was applied to beef trim before grinding. Beefxide® was found to be highly effective as an antimicrobial on ground beef produced from treated trim and did not negatively affect color or flavor. After 10 days storage, consumer panel evaluation showed that flavor and overall acceptability was higher for Beefxide®-treated ground beef patties.
“As a next generation antimicrobial, Beefxide® takes the industry a step beyond the lactic acid that is widely used today,” said Elis Owens, Ph.D., senior chemist/microbiologist for Birko. “It offers similar antimicrobial efficacy to lactic acid at a lower use concentration and therefore provides a cost saving.”
The research will also be submitted as a manuscript to the Journal of Food Science, a peer reviewed scientific publication.
Beefxide® received approval in May 2011 from the USDA-FSIS for use as an antimicrobial processing aid on beef carcasses, primals, cuts and trim, and is listed in FSIS Directive 7120.1. It is formulated from U.S. FDA-approved ingredients and all components of the formulas are generally recognized as safe (GRAS). Beefxide® is also suitable for use on products to be labeled as natural or organic. Beefxide® has been approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for use in beef production processes in Canada.
