New Product Development: May 2010 Archives

Following extensive discussion, the European Parliament has voted against the use of new product 'meat glue' in food manufacturing. The decision to block EU approval of meat glue additives came down to a lack of benefits and misleading information for consumers.

What is meat glue?

The revolting sounding name of this new additive is fairly apt for what it is. Made of fibrogen and thrombin found in the blood plasma of cows and pigs, this meat glue additive is designed to bond separate pieces of meat from different sources together. It can be used on anything from meat and poultry to fish and seafood, creating new products such as salmon wrapped in bacon etc.

The additive has been approved by top food job officials at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for use in food manufacturing, but it is not the health aspect of meat glue that is the problem. Member of the European Parliament Arlene McCarthy has explained how meat glue may be used to mislead consumers into paying more for lower quality products. She also said:

"At a time when consumers are increasingly demanding more detailed information about where the food products they buy are from and how they are processed it is not right that most people remain unaware of 'tricks of the trade' such as this."

The brand new KFC chicken sandwich released in the US is whipping up a great deal of controversy, especially after it was revealed that the 'Double Down' burger is exceedingly high in salt and fat.

The basic concept of the Double Down chicken sandwich is that it contains no bread; instead, the cheese, bacon and sauce filling is sandwiched between two deep-fried chicken burgers. A nightmare to eat and even more of a nightmare for your health, the Double Down burger has been found to contain a massive 32 grams of fat and a person's whole daily requirement in sodium.

At around 540 calories, dieticians have said it isn't the unhealthiest kind of fast food available, as McDonald's Big Mac and Whopper are worse. However, the Double Down - on a limited run of six weeks - has received vehemently negative criticism on nearly all quarters. It has been called a 'salt bomb' by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, 'alarming' by the Los Angeles Tomes and worst of all from the San Francisco Chronicle:

"a vile meatwich crammed like a grenade with sodium, sugar, fat and chemicals."

Despite this barrage of criticism, staff in KFC food jobs have reported that the Double Down seems to be selling well with most customers mainly buying it out of curiosity.

The sandwich isn't available in the UK, but KFC can expect a new wave of controversy if it is ever released over here. This would be more bad press for the company, who have recently been fined around £19,000 after cockroaches and mice were found at their flagship Leicester Square outlet in London.