What is Deli Meat?
Deli meat – also called lunch meat, cold cuts and sliced meat are pre-cooked,salted meat, which is ready to eat and can be served hot or cold. They are popular on sandwiches or served on a charcuterie board as an appetizer with cheese, dips, olives and nuts. Most cured meats are meats that have been preserved by adding chemical preservatives such as sodium nitrite. Some delicacies, such as traditional prosciutto, are prepared with salt alone, but this is less common. Most meats are cured using nitrites, either in the form of sodium nitrite or cultured celery extracts.
First of all, the healthiest meat would be free of nitrites. Nitrites in processed meat combine with amino acids found in animal proteins, allowing nitrites to form nitrosamines, the carcinogen. This is what differentiates eating nitrites from spinach or beets from consuming them in a cooked meat product.
Deli meats can be purchased pre-sliced in vacuum packs, which are typically found next to the meat and dairy sections of supermarkets. They can also be purchased by weight at the deli. There is no difference between the meat product available at the deli and the meat that is pre-cut and packaged.
However, organic deli meat will be difficult to find at the deli counter, because organic deli meat cannot come into contact with conventional deli meat, so the store must have a special cutting machine. That is why they are sold pre-cut and packaged, or as whole roasts, as we doOrganic mini ham.
People with food allergies often prefer to buy pre-packaged meat because they can read the full list of ingredients, claims and certifications specific to that product.Priority allergenssuch as dairy, gluten, soy and mustard must be declared on a food label.
Common meats include bacon, sausages (hot dogs, smokies, pepperoni), bologna, salami, pastrami and varieties of ham, turkey, beef and sliced chicken for lunch.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulates the names of certain deli products, such as Bacon, which can only be used if it has been cured with nitrites. The CFIA defines bacon as pork belly cured with nitrites. That's why we're called baconBreakfast bars.
How is Deli Meat made?
Not all meats are the same, and it starts with cutting the meat and ends with what is added to the brine. A deli roast can be made with pieces of whole muscle meat that are bonded together through a salting and tumbling process (think roast turkey breast). Or a deli product can be made with mechanically deboned chunks of meat that are ground into a paste (think bologna) and then shaped and cut into luncheon meat. The same goes for sausages. A quality smoker has chunks of real meat versus a hot dog, which is more hom*ogeneous in texture.
Common to most deli products is the brining process. In conventional meats, brine contains a combination of salt, water, sugars (dextrose, corn syrup solids), spices, herbs and preservatives such as sodium nitrite and potassium phosphate. Nitrite preserves the meat and gives it a beautiful pink color and a distinctly salty taste. Phosphates help retain moisture and bind the meat pieces together to form a perfectly firm roast that holds together when cut.
In organic meats, the brine consists primarily of sea salt, water, herbs and spices and in most cases no nitrites from celery extracts are added, with the exception of some brands of organic bacon. Natural starches such as potatoes are used to replace phosphates, and deli steak or sausage is made with lean, whole muscle cuts that are organic.
What's in Deli Meat?
When meat products are pre-sliced and packaged, the list of ingredients and allergens must be on the label. As mentioned above, common allergens such as mustard, gluten, soy and milk must be listed in the ingredients of packaged meats. It is also important to note that the deli's ingredients will not change from a brand's pre-packaged "Black Forest Ham" to their roasted deli "Black Forest Ham". It's the same recipe, one is bought by weight at the deli and the other is pre-cut and packaged. Most delis will not list the ingredients at the deli counter, but you can ask the staff for this information.
Below is a chart comparing the ingredients of conventional ham to those of conventional ham. organic ham.
| Deli-product | Conventional Black Forest Ham | “Naturlig” Black Forest skinks 1 | "Natural" Black Forest Skinks 2 | Biological Smoked ham |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animals | Pork | Pork | Pork | Organic pork |
| Allergens | Mustard | Mustard | Nee | Nee |
| Nitritter | Natriumnitriet | Cultivated celery extract | Cultivated celery extract | Nee |
| Sugar | Glucose | Stir sugar | Nee | Organic honey |
| Preservatives | Sodium and potassium phosphate | Vinegar, lemon juice powder | Vinegar | Nee |
| Other things | Sodium erythorbate, caramel, sulphites, salt, smoke | Natural flavor, smoke, sea salt | sea salt, smoke | Organic potato starch, sea salt, natural fruit and herb extracts, organic rosemary, sodium bicarbonate, smoke |
Other ingredients found in processed meats such as sausage, salami or bologna include dextrose, wheat, milk ingredients, sodium ascorbate, lactic acid starter culture, corn syrup solids, sulfites and caramel.
What are the healthiest treats?
The healthiest meats are preservative-free and come from poultry; turkey and chicken breast instead of beef or pork, because the saturated fat content and calories per portion is much lower.
For example, two to three slices of Black Forest ham can contain up to 260 calories with up to 19 grams of fat, 30% saturated and up to 310 mg of sodium.
Three to four slices of roasted turkey breast deli meat can contain just 50 calories, with 1% fat, 1% saturated and slightly less sodium.
In addition, fewer additives and preservatives are added to poultry products than to pork. Cultivated celery extracts added to curing pork products are biochemically identical to sodium nitrite and are found in both "natural" and some organic meats such as bacon. But most “natural” poultry-based delicacies do not contain nitrites or celery extracts.
The healthiest meats available in Canada today are the MCLEAN line of organic sliced meats and lean pork and beef products. Some examples include ourOrganic oven-roasted turkey fillet, for "clean and lean"Turkish Baconmade with turkey, honey, sea salt and smoke, and oursOrganic pork tenderloin baconwhich is low in saturated fat, low in calories and nitrite-free.
Plus, you can also find home-made roasts at some grocery stores that are unlikely to contain any preservatives. However, it is important to clarify with the deli staff that they are made in-house and are free of allergens of concern or added nitrites. Remember the expression"Naturally"literally means nothing. It is an unregulated, often misleading claim that is overused.
