USA poultry meat kept above -3.3°C can be marketed as 'fresh'
USA poultry meat kept above -3.3°C marketed as ‘fresh’
-
USA poultry meat kept above -3.3°C can be marketed as ‘fresh’
-
The product is seldom referred to as super-chilled, since legally in the USA poultry meat kept above -3.3°C can be marketed as ‘fresh’ (US Poultry products inspection regulations 9CFR381)
-
The majority of the literature on super-chilling has been on fish and other seafood although the process has been commonly utilized in the USA for poultry (as described by Jul (1986)). Though this product is seldom referred to as super-chilled since legally in the USA poultry meat kept above -3.3°C (26°F) can be marketed as ‘fresh’ (US Poultry products inspection regulations 9CFR381). Interestingly prior to 1997, poultry in the US “could be sold as ‘fresh’ even if it was frozen “as solid as a block of ice””. However, in December 1997 the term ‘fresh’ was re-defined. The temperature of -3.3°C was apparently chosen because; “At -3.3°C (26°F), the product surface is still pliable and yields to the thumb when pressed. Most consumers consider a product to be fresh, as opposed to frozen, when it is pliable or when it is not hard to the touch.”
-
There is relatively little published data on the freezing point of poultry meat. It is generally recognized to be between -1.5 and -2°C, though as yet unpublished studies at FRPERC have measured a freezing point of approximately -1.3°C in the deep breast of standard UK carcasses. However, in the USA -2.2°C is used (Sams, 2001) and a value as low as -2.8°C has been quoted (Pflug, 1957).(Source: http://www.frperc.com )
