Process for producing low-fat meat products

A fractionation process for commercially producing low-fat low-cholesterol, reduced calorie, natural beef, fowl and seafood products. The process involves size reduction of the meat in the presence of water with ionic strength pH manipulation and fractionation of the meat into fatty materials, connective tissues and extremely low-fat, low-cholesterol meat particles. The resulting naturally defatted meat exhibits excellent eating and cooking characteristics, extended shelf life and is free from carcinogenic substances found in broiled high fat meat.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to a method of producing a low-fat 
meat product. More particularly, the invention relates to a method for the 
production of naturally defatted and decholesteroled cooked or uncooked 
meat to provide food products with extremely low-fat and low saturated 
fat, while also providing significantly reduced cholesterol and calories. 
The product exhibits enhanced taste and is free from chewiness and 
toughness normally associated with low-fat meats. 
In recent years, a great deal of attention has been focused on the 
relationship between dietary total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol 
intake on the one hand and the incidence of diseases of the blood vessels, 
such as coronary heart disease and arteriosclerosis, on the other hand. As 
a consequence of these studies and concerns, medical professionals have 
been advising the reduction of human consumption of animal fat. This 
suggestion has resulted in a decline of meat consumption, particularly of 
red meat which is known to contain high levels of saturated fat and 
cholesterol. The declined consumption of meat has adversely affected the 
meat industry resulting in economic losses. On the other hand, the 
consumption of poultry and fish products have been increasing because they 
contain less total fat, as well as less saturated fat and cholesterol than 
red meat. 
The red meat industry has reacted to such consumption decline by recently 
introducing a low-fat hamburger (10-13% fat) using more expensive leaner 
cuts and adding carrageenan and other moisture binders to sustain 
juiciness. Other products recently introduced include a 4% fat lean ground 
beef product containing hydrolyzed oat fiber. Nevertheless, the fat and 
saturated fat levels in such meats are still quite high with regard to the 
currently recommended healthy diet (the Surgeon General's recommendation 
is no more than 30% of calories from fat). Individuals with restricted 
diet requirements, as well as health-conscious consumers, can obtain only 
modest reductions of total fat and cholesterol intake. Furthermore, only 
expensive lean meats can be utilized, which in return make such products 
cost prohibitive for most consumers and further limit the consumption 
potential. 
Numerous attempts have been undertaken to reduce the fat in red meat. 
Unfortunately, all approaches have revolved around reducing the fat only 
to relatively high levels of 
approximately 4-10% or greater. These fat levels, saturated fat and 
cholesterol are not reduced to acceptable levels for health conscious 
consumers and individuals with restricted diet requirements. 
Several processes have been developed to treat meats from various animal 
sources to reduce their fat content. These processes typically have 
concerned one or more of the following three approaches. First, the 
removal of some fat from meat has been accomplished by mechanical means 
such as a crusher, a press or a cutting tool; and these means are 
exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,776,063, 3,780,191, 3,748,148, 3,685,095, 
3,078,287, 3,270,041 and 4,948,607; Japanese Patent Publications Nos. 
62265396 (871118) and 61158763 (860718); French Pat. No. 2,187,229; and 
British Pat. No. 1179418. Second, treatments including heat, light, and 
reaction of gases with meats are described in Japanese Patent Publication 
Nos. 62278967 (871203), 61058533 (860325), 59173070 (840929), 59084993 
(840516) and 58187496 (831101); Soviet Union Publication Nos. 1153874 
(850507), 627810 (780821), 502011 (76082) and 1318420 (690331); and U.S. 
Pat. Nos. 3,687,819, 3,780,075 and 3,532,593. Third, chemical treatments 
with water or strong chemical reagents are described in Soviet Union 
Publication Nos. 1329737 (870815), 1063824 (831230) and 1017684 (830515); 
German Patent Publication Nos. 200156 (830323), 3169440 (850425) and 
2119608 (710422); Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 56018537 (810221), 
55156569 (801205), 54003099 (790111) and 52040473 (770329); and U.S. Pat. 
Nos. 3,794,743 and 3,532,593. 
Some additives, such as food gels, have also been utilized to reduce the 
fat level in meat products (U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,922), or a Konjac Mannan 
gel (U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,103) and milk proteins (U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,515). 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,099 is directed to an apparatus for cooking meat in 
home and commercial kitchens by suspending the meat in a partially closed 
container above boiling water wherein the meat is exposed to steam. 
A different method for reducing the cholesterol and saturated fat content 
of red meat and fowl is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,185. This patent 
is directed to use of a heated unsaturated oil to solubilize the saturated 
fat and cholesterol of fragmented meat, then an aqueous fluid is used to 
separate and remove the extracting oil from the oil-processed meat. 
According to this patent, the fat content was reduced from 20.8% to 18.5% 
(only an 11% reduction) and cholesterol was reduced from 115mg to 80mg of 
cholesterol per 100 g beef (only a 30% reduction). Both reductions are 
relatively insignificant and do not offer much advantage over merely 
trimming the extra fat manually. Other drawbacks are that the method 
produces pre-cooked meats, the product must be declared as imitation meats 
because they contain vegetable oil and the caloric value will be as high 
as regular high fat ground beef. 
Another method for lowering the fat and cholesterol levels in meat is set 
forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,682. In this patent, a thin layer of meat is 
exposed to ultraviolet light. The meat is then comminuted in a chilled 
bowl with the addition of iced water, edible acid, salt, and food 
phosphates until a quantity of fat and cholesterol separate from the meat 
emulsion and adhere to the inner surface of the cold bowl. The limitation 
of this invention is the impracticality of having to expose thin layers of 
meat to ultraviolet light for up to twelve hours. In addition, health 
hazards might be created by virtue of forming free radicals by exposing 
the meat to radiation. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,183 describes another example of using heat treatment 
in the production of low-fat meat from cheaper cuts of meat. Furthermore, 
the process of the removal of sterols and/or lipid components from lipid 
containing food products using sub or super-critical fluids (e.g., carbon 
dioxide) is explained in U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,565. This patent describes 
food initially processed to produce an intermediate moisture product with 
substantially all of the free water, but not all of the bound water is 
removed to produce a moisture level between 30-55%. Such an intermediate 
product is treated with super-critical carbon dioxide to remove the lipid. 
The product can be treated with water and fat to provide a reconstituted 
meat product. Such chemical treatments are, however, considered 
undesirable for food products. Recent report indicate there are 
detrimental effects of sub or super-critical fluids on blood cholesterol. 
At the least, these products would be perceived by consumers as being 
artificial products. 
Canadian Patent No. 463,736 is directed to a process for defatting pork 
skins for gelatin manufacturing. The process involves coarse and fine 
grinding of pork skins which are subjected to dilution and flotation in 
water to remove the fat from animal tissues. These steps are followed by 
agitation in a moving current of air to produce a suitable base for 
gelatin manufacturing. 
In another approach U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,191 describes a process for 
reducing the fat content of frozen meat by comminuting a frozen portion of 
meat and obtaining discrete frozen meat particles and discrete frozen fat 
particles. Upon the addition of water, the particles are mechanically 
separated into reduced fat meat and fat particles. Such a process could 
reduce the visible fat in frozen meat into a level achievable by manual 
trimming of fats, but it does not remove the difficult to eliminate, 
intramuscular fat, or the fat-laden connective tissues and the cholesterol 
which is located in the cell membranes. 
Despite all these innovations, the currently known procedures collectively 
remain ineffective for the purpose of substantially reducing total fat and 
cholesterol of meats, fowl, and sea foods. All of the available procedures 
typically involve the grinding or crushing of meat followed by chemical 
and physical extraction with hot water, steam, heat, pressure, or some 
combination of these treatments. One of the primary challenges remaining 
is the appreciable removal of cholesterol and total fats located in 
inaccessible components of the meat. Virtually all of the cholesterol in 
edible meats exists in the free form and is located in the membranes of 
the cell within the meat tissue rather than in the meat (muscle) itself. 
On the other hand, most of the fat exists in the adipose tissues wherein 
the fat is embedded in connective tissues. Intramuscular fat represents a 
good portion of marbling and is the most difficult to eliminate. However, 
neither cholesterol, fat nor saturated fat can be effectively extracted 
from edible meats and meat products simply by employing heat, water, or 
steam. Water and steam can be employed to melt some fats, which then can 
be physically removed in part. Nevertheless, these treatments cannot 
substantially extract the cholesterol or fat and saturated fats of meat, 
particularly in the case of red meats such as beef, pork and lamb. 
The need for a commercial process for adding value to the less demanded 
high fat meats and low value fish has always been desired as well. In 
addition to the nutritional attributes of such low-fat products, the 
organoleptic properties of the finished products could be greatly improved 
resulting in a significant profit for the industry. 
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved natural 
method for producing a low-fat meat product. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel method for 
producing a low-fat red meat, fowl or fish product. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved meat product 
having low-fat content and low-cholesterol content. 
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an improved low-fat 
meat product and method of manufacture producing a meat product having 
intramuscular and connective tissue fat and intracellular cholesterol 
removed. 
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a novel method of 
producing high quality meat products from low quality starting meat 
products. 
Other objects and features of the invention will be set forth in the 
detailed description, examples and claims and in the drawings described 
below:

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides methods for commercially producing low-fat, 
low-cholesterol and reduced calorie natural cooked or uncooked meat 
suitable for direct consumption. In addition, it has been found when meats 
are treated by the method of the present invention, they exhibit excellent 
organoleptic properties (texture, taste, and flavor). In the case of 
uncooked meats processed by the invention the meat retains more juiciness 
and less shrinkage during cooking. It is a further aspect of the present 
invention to produce meats with extended shelf life when refrigerated or 
frozen as compared to conventional meats. The invention also produces meat 
products which show no deterioration of the flavor upon reheating or 
repreparation and do not undergo any degree of fat oxidation. 
In one broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method 
for fractionating meats into (1) fatty materials, and into (2) extremely 
low-fat, low-cholesterol meats suitable for various dietary needs. The 
present invention seeks to substantially overcome the problem of fat and 
cholesterol present in the meat beyond conventional trimming or rendering 
processes used with either raw or cooked meats. 
The present process produces reduced fat and cholesterol meats in uncooked 
or raw state meats and in cooked meats as well, both being suitable for 
direct consumption as well as for prepared dishes and frozen meals. 
Furthermore, the reduced pH featured in the process results in 
significantly increasing the stability, extending the shelf life and 
reducing health hazards and sickness associated with refrigerated meats. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In the present invention the term "meat" shall include, without limitation, 
both cooked and uncooked meats, and all edible meats, such as, for 
example, beef, pork, lamb, buffalo, deer, chicken, turkey, hens, ducks, 
fish, shrimp, shellfish and the like. 
Referring to the flow diagram of FIG. 1, the first step in one form of the 
invention is the size reduction step, including micro-reduction, of the 
starting meat material. In the case of the illustrated size reduction of 
beef red meat, the size range is between approximately 0.5-2000 microns in 
diameter utilizing a size disintegrator manufactured by Stephan Corp. 
(Stephan Universal Machine Type VCM-12) with sharp cutting knives. In the 
most preferred embodiment the size reduction is done in the presence of 
water (preferably a 1:1 ratio but this ratio can range widely). 
The purpose of the size micro-reduction step is to "disintegrate" 
connective tissues, adipose tissues, fats, cell membranes and proteins and 
increase the surface area to release various types of fats and 
cholesterol. The precise size range suitable to cause such 
"disintegration" can, of course, vary depending on the type of meat (for 
example, beef, lamb, fish, and poultry) and even the particular structure 
of any one individual animal's fat structure (arising from, e.g., diet or 
breeding). 
It is important to avoid re-emulsifying the fats and to use a disintegrator 
adequate to result in the tissues and cells being substantially disrupted. 
In the most preferred process the fat and cholesterol are thrown away from 
the center of the vessel (when the size reduced meat is in a liquid, or 
water based, meat suspension) by the action of the rotation of the vessel. 
This step in this particular form of the invention helps to prevent 
re-emulsification of the fats. Another purpose of this step is to 
tenderize the collagen and connective tissues in order to produce a smooth 
consistency and reduce chewiness and toughness in the finished product. 
This step also facilitates an acidification step to be described 
hereinafter. 
Size micro-reduction can be performed in the presence or absence of water, 
and the pH can range from 2.0-6.0 when water is added (or about 5.0-7.0 
when no water is present). The temperature of this step is generally 
irrelevant as long as the mixture is in the liquid state. The process can 
be performed between about 30.degree.-160.degree. F., and most preferably 
at about 70.degree. F. 
In a most preferred method and product, the resulting particle size after 
micro-reduction in a water solution is shown in FIG. 2 and in Tables 1 and 
2. The final size is about 0.6-40 microns diameter with a mean size of 
about 5.24 microns. However, adequate disintegration for purposes of the 
removal of fat leads to a particle size of less than about 2000-2500 
microns. 
TABLE I 
______________________________________ 
PERCENTILES 
______________________________________ 
Geometric Mean size: 
5.239 .mu.m 
Geom. Std Deviation: 
2.196 .mu.m 
0.100% Volume above 
34.04 um 
Geom. Skewness: 
0.378 1.000% Volume above 
26.69 um 
Geom. Coeff Variation: 
41.92 6.000% Volume above 
18.02 um 
22.00% Volume above 
9.908 um 
Arithmetic Mean Size: 
7.022 .mu.m 
50.00% Volume above 
5.147 um 
Median Size: 5.048 .mu.m 
78.00% Volume above 
3.032 um 
Mode Size: 4.410 .mu.m 
94.00% Volume above 
1.336 um 
Kurtosis: 3.452 99.00% Volume above 
0.800 um 
Arith Std Deviation 
5.912 .mu.m 
99.90% Volume above 
0.621 um 
______________________________________ 
TABLE II 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
Volume Distribution Data (see FIG. 2) 
Total Volume: 39,409,121 (relative standard) 
Channel 
Size Relative 
Cumulative 
Channel 
Size Relative 
Cumulative 
Number 
(Microns) 
Volume 
Vol. % 
No. (Microns) 
Volume 
Vol. % 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
1 0.532 0 100.0 33 1.569 138664 
92.4 
2 0.550 5371 
100.0 34 1.623 145501 
92.0 
3 0.569 7648 
100.0 35 1.678 149336 
91.7 
4 0.589 10673 
100.0 36 1.736 157963 
91.3 
5 0.609 13824 
99.9 37 1.796 172006 
90.9 
6 0.630 19563 
99.9 38 1.858 179075 
90.4 
7 0.652 25695 
99.8 39 1.921 194848 
89.9 
8 0.674 33074 
99.7 40 1.987 214559 
89.4 
9 0.697 41721 
99.7 41 2.056 234804 
88.8 
10 0.721 51576 
99.5 42 2.126 243464 
88.2 
11 0.746 62621 
99.4 43 2.200 263049 
87.6 
12 0.772 72058 
99.2 44 2.275 291334 
86.9 
13 0.798 83437 
99.0 45 2.353 319559 
86.1 
14 0.825 98065 
98.8 46 2.434 338167 
85.3 
15 0.854 105281 
98.5 47 2.518 370259 
84.4 
16 0.883 112638 
98.3 48 2.604 397818 
83.4 
17 0.914 119963 
98.0 49 2.694 419926 
82.4 
18 0.945 127836 
97.6 50 2.787 464472 
81.2 
19 0.977 135889 
97.3 51 2.882 515659 
80.0 
20 1.011 141584 
97.0 52 2.981 531505 
78.7 
21 1.046 144994 
96.6 53 3.084 559402 
77.3 
22 1.082 144018 
96.2 54 3.190 610704 
75.8 
23 1.119 143782 
95.9 55 3.299 650240 
74.2 
24 1.157 142676 
95.5 56 3.413 679705 
72.5 
25 1.197 141442 
95.1 57 3.530 703894 
70.8 
26 1.238 138364 
94.8 58 3.652 718956 
69.0 
27 1.281 135729 
94.4 59 3.777 732028 
67.1 
28 1.325 134789 
94.1 60 3.907 739928 
65.3 
29 1.370 132996 
93.8 61 4.041 748849 
63.4 
30 1.418 131466 
93.4 62 4.180 750034 
61.5 
31 1.466 132894 
93.1 63 4.324 749254 
59.6 
32 1.517 135905 
92.7 64 4.472 753011 
57.7 
65 4.626 730605 
55.8 97 13.64 355649 
12.5 
66 4.785 722469 
53.9 98 14.11 351917 
11.6 
67 4.950 707677 
52.1 99 14.60 340970 
10.7 
68 5.120 707000 
50.3 100 15.10 321022 
9.84 
69 5.296 700169 
48.5 101 15.62 301656 
9.05 
70 5.478 678691 
46.8 102 16.15 295328 
8.29 
71 5.666 666037 
45.1 103 16.71 285593 
7.56 
72 5.861 662094 
43.4 104 17.28 271651 
6.85 
73 6.062 638789 
41.7 105 17.88 263931 
6.17 
74 6.271 617183 
40.1 106 18.49 240908 
5.53 
75 6.486 606612 
38.6 107 19.13 225626 
4.94 
76 6.709 603677 
37.1 108 19.78 212050 
4.38 
77 6.940 594500 
35.5 109 20.46 198002 
3.86 
78 7.178 574588 
34.1 110 21.17 186120 
3.37 
79 7.425 555349 
32.6 111 21.89 171861 
2.92 
80 7.680 544786 
31.2 112 22.65 154247 
2.51 
81 7.944 525944 
29.9 113 23.43 142682 
2.13 
82 8.217 502702 
28.6 114 24.23 125300 
1.79 
83 8.499 483902 
27.3 115 25.06 112640 
1.49 
84 8.792 470668 
26.1 116 25.93 103707 
1.21 
85 9.094 461300 
24.9 117 26.82 86484 
0.97 
86 9.406 454417 
23.8 118 27.74 77069 
0.76 
87 9.730 447496 
22.6 119 28.69 64793 
0.58 
88 10.06 441184 
21.5 120 29.68 49409 
0.44 
89 10.41 431725 
20.4 121 30.70 39978 
0.33 
90 10.77 418299 
19.3 122 31.75 30543 
0.24 
91 11.14 408630 
18.2 123 32.84 26456 
0.16 
92 11.52 398891 
17.2 124 33.97 20480 
0.10 
93 11.92 395122 
16.2 125 35.14 16384 
0.06 
94 12.33 375406 
15.2 126 36.35 10240 
0.02 
95 12.75 370279 
14.3 127 37.60 4096 
0.01 
96 13.19 360593 
13.4 128 38.89 0 0.00 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
Another feature of the most preferred form of the invention is the addition 
of food grade acid to the meat (before or after size reduction) or the 
meat and water mixture to reduce the pH of liquid in contact with the size 
reduced meat or the liquid in a meat suspension to a pH of roughly 
2.0-6.0. Reduction of the pH into the acidic range controls the 
microbiological environment, suppressing the growth of any spoilage 
microorganisma (i.e., pseudomonads and related Gram-negative organisma) in 
addition to microorganisms that might produce toxins (i.e., Clostridium 
botulinum) and restrict the growth of foodborne pathogens (i.e., 
Salmonella, Stophylococcus aurous, Listeria monocytogens). 
In controlling the meat pH or aqueous meat solution pH, any food grade 
acids can provide the necessary pH reduction or control. Organic acids 
such as acetic, adipic, citric, malic, lactic, succinic, and tartaric, 
glucono delta-lactone and any inorganic acids such as phosphoric, sulfuric 
and hydrochloric acids can also be used. Naturally bases, such as NaOH, 
can be used if it is desireable to controllably increase the pH for 
further processing purposes. While acids such as ascorbic, benzoic, 
erythorbic, propionic and sorbic can be used, the expenses can be somewhat 
prohibitive for quantities needed to achieve the proper acidification. One 
of the most preferred acids is lactic acid which is used in an amount 
sufficient to suppress the pH (or control the pH) and to modify the ionic 
strength of the modified meat suspension. Without limitation on the scope 
of the invention, it is believed the ionic strength is affected by 
chelating some of the divalent metal ions that exist in the meat 
structure. Furthermore, since overall protein structure is negatively 
charged, acid provides positive ions which react with the negative ions of 
the meat and bring the pH close to the isoelectric point of proteins, 
thereby aiding in releasing fats and cholesterol from intramuscular 
proteins and connective tissues. This mechanism is contrary to other 
patents and known processes which utilize buffering salts to solubilize 
the proteins, increase ionic strength and increase pH of meat. Such 
buffering salts were found to be detrimental to this process in terms of 
producing excessive amounts of connective tissues which accumulate during 
agitation and processing and could bind the fat and hinder fat removal. 
In another embodiment of the present invention mentioned hereinbefore, no 
water is added to meat before size micro-reduction where the pH of the 
size reduced meat can be about 6.0-7.0. The size micro-reduced meat 
(including natural meat fluids) is then transferred into a processing tank 
where sufficient amounts of water can be added for further processing. The 
water can be added in the ratio of about 0.25:1 to 40:1 times the weight 
of meat being processed. 
In one form of the invention, it was found that the combination of water 
and acid at a pH of approximately 2.0-5.5 caused the connective tissues to 
gelatinize at low temperatures. These conditions then cause the release of 
substantially all the entrapped fat, as well as intramuscular fat and 
cholesterol which remains suspended in the liquid medium. These unwanted 
meat components can then be recovered during mechanical separation 
afterwards. Furthermore, the removal of gelatinized, treated connective 
tissues yielded unexpectedly smooth meat completely free from chewiness 
and toughness associated with conventional "low-fat" meats. The addition 
of water transforms the size reduced meat into an aqueous meat suspension 
which is capable of being fractionated and separated during centrifugation 
or other mechanical separation process. Adding water, or other water based 
solutions, is particularly useful in releasing fat and cholesterol from 
cell membranes, reducing the viscosity of the aqueous meat suspension and 
enhancing the separation and fractionation of fat, cholesterol and 
fat-laden connective tissues. In addition, the water creates a density 
gradient for further fractionation steps. 
In another embodiment of the present invention described before, when water 
was not added to the size reduced meat suspension, a finished low-fat meat 
was produced having approximately 3-5% fat (see Example 5). 
When processing size micro-reduced meat using an aqueous meat suspension, 
the meat in the aqueous mixture is exposed to centrifugation in a decanter 
and/or a high speed centrifuge (both are commercially available). 
Centrifugation separates the predominantly meat proteins from the aqueous 
solution which contains primarily diluent, fat and soluble meat proteins. 
The aqueous solution is suitable for passage through a disc centrifuge for 
further separation of fat; and diluent and low-fat soluble proteins which 
are returned to the raw low-fat meat for further use. 
The finished dry meat portion can be further processed by the addition of 
ingredients to retain the juiciness during cooking. Also, natural flavors 
can be added to produce a range of flavored meats suitable for numerous 
applications. In addition, animal blood can be added to the separated meat 
to recolorize the processed meat. Water removed from the aqueous meat 
suspension can be recycled as a diluent in the aqueous meat suspension for 
virtually unlimited cycles. 
Furthermore, in other finishing steps after recovery of the processed 
low-fat meat, neutralizers, such as sodium hydroxide and baking soda, can 
be added to the low-fat meat to increase pH to produce a wide range of 
low-fat products, such as hot dogs, cold meats and canned processed meats. 
In addition, one can add emulsifying salts, such as phosphates and 
citrates. 
EXAMPLES 
The present invention will be further described by reference to the 
following nonlimiting examples which do not restrict the scope of the 
present invention to ingredients, experimental designs, processing 
parameters or the illustrated data. In addition to these examples, further 
examples are incorporated from application Ser. No. 07/813,317 which is 
incorporated by reference. 
EXAMPLE (1) 
Fifty pounds of beef (25% fat) was ground in a standard meat grinder. The 
ground meat was subjected to size micro-reduction utilizing a Stephan 
Universal Machine, type VCM-12, to produce a modified meat suspension with 
no addition of water being made to the meat. About 50 lbs. of the modified 
meat suspension were mixed uniformly with 900 lbs. of water (70.degree. 
F.) in a processor to form an aqueous meat suspension with pH of about 
6.2. A three phase centrifuge decantor (model LX-409, Alpha Laval Group, 
Indianapolis, Ind.) was used to remove fat and water from the meat. The 
resulting separated meat had a fat content of about 0.3%. 
EXAMPLE (2) 
The same procedure of Example (1) was followed except lactic acid was added 
to the ground meat before size micro-reduction to obtain a pH of about 
2.0, and diluent water pH was adjusted to a value of 2.0. The resulting 
meat had a fat content of about 0.3%. 
EXAMPLE (3) 
The same procedure of Example (2) was followed except water was added to 
the ground meat before size micro-reduction at the ratio of 0.25:1 to 5:1 
for the water to meat ratio. The resulting meat had a fat content of about 
0.3%. 
EXAMPLE (4) 
The same procedure of Example (1) was followed, except lactic acid was 
mixed with a small amount of water and added to the ground meat before 
size micro-reduction to obtain a pH of about 3.0, and diluent water pH was 
adjusted to 3.0. The resulting processed meat had a fat content of 0.3%. 
EXAMPLE (5) 
Five hundred pounds of ground beef (22% fat content) was subjected to size 
micro-reduction, then centrifuged in a three-phase decantor without any 
further water being added and fat was substantially eliminated to produce 
low-fat meat (about 3-5% fat). 
EXAMPLE (6) 
The same procedure as Example (4) was followed, except the particle size of 
the modified fat suspension after size micro-reduction ranged between 
50-2000 microns. The fat content of the processed meat was approximately 
3% fat. 
EXAMPLE (7) 
The same procedure of Example (1) was followed except 50 lbs. of modified 
meat suspension was diluted to 2000 lbs. (40 times the meat weight). A two 
phase-decantor was employed to separate the low-fat meat from the diluent 
solution (containing diluent, fat and soluble proteins). A three phase 
separator AFPX-513 (manufactured by the Laval Group, Indianapolis, Ind.) 
was utilized to separate diluent, fat and soluble proteins which were 
added to the low-fat meat obtained formerly. The fat content of the 
resulting low-fat meat was 0.2%. 
EXAMPLE (8) 
The resultant low-fat meat from Example (3) was mixed with a neutralizer 
(sodium hydroxide and baking soda), barley flour xanthan gum, guar gum and 
natural flavors to produce low-fat meat patties (pH 6.4, 0.3% fat). The 
resulting product exhibited a smooth texture, good flavor and excellent 
smell. 
EXAMPLE (9) 
The same procedure of Example (1) was followed except the temperature of 
the diluent water was about 110.degree.-130.degree. F. The resulting 
processed meat had a fat content of about 0.3%. 
EXAMPLE (10) 
The same procedure as Example (3) was followed except the temperature of 
the acidified diluent water was 140.degree.-160.degree. F. Again, the 
processed meat had a fat content of about 0.3%. 
EXAMPLE (11) 
Fifty pounds of ground beef (20% fat content) was cooked to 
180.degree.-200.degree. F. for 10 minutes in a processor with continuous 
agitation. Melted fat was removed and cooked meat was subjected to size 
micro-reduction and diluted in 900 lbs. water (pH 6.0) and then 
centrifuged in a three-phase decantor to produce a processed, cooked 
low-fat meat (1.0% fat). 
EXAMPLE (12) 
Same procedure as Example (11) was followed except the pH of the liquid in 
the diluted cooked meat suspension was adjusted to 4.0-5.0. The resulting 
processed meat had a fat content of about 0.3%. 
EXAMPLE (13) 
The same procedure as Example (8) was followed except frozen concentrated 
red blood cells were added at 1-2% weight fraction to compensate for blood 
cells lost to the diluent water during processing of the meat. The 
resulting processed meat had a 0.3% fat content. 
EXAMPLE (14) 
The same procedure as Example (1) was followed except water was added to 
the startinq meat to carry out the size reduction step. Water to meat 
ratios used ranged from 14-40:1. The resulting meat had a fat content of 
about 0.2% for 1:1 water to meat ratio with small fat percentage increases 
(about 0.1% fat content) outside this specific ratio.