If in the daily life of the Brazilian meat is a food that can not be missing from the plate, in March there was no lack of subject about it. THE Weak Meat operation, from the Federal Police, took over the news and the internet, turning food into a cause for concern and jokes like the one in the image below, relating the meat sold in Brazil to cardboard.
The history of cardboard in the flesh arose from a great misunderstanding. In one of the calls tapped by the Federal Police and mentioned in the operation's report, employees of the BRF food conglomerate comment on the use of cardboard in one of the sausage production areas. But in the engraving it is not clear that the cardboard was used in the manufacture of the sausage. Consulted by the newspaper Zero Hora, the veterinarian and professor at the Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Roberto Roça, believes that the mention of cardboard referred to packaging. “Cardboard was probably used as a secondary packaging, with the primary being plastic. There is no way to put cardboard in the food, ”he said.
The expert's explanation makes sense. In the meat industry, cardboard is considered a secondary packaging because it can loosen particles and contaminate the meat. Thus, plastic is the preferred packaging for direct contact with food, and this is noticeable in our daily lives. Observe the frozen section at the supermarket: hamburgers and nuggets, for example, are never in direct contact with the cardboard box, as they are first packaged in plastic. In the butcher shop, plastic also reigns, both in vacuum parts and in the sachet used to pack the portions sold at the counter. Not to mention the practical Styrofoam trays covered with plastic film, ideal for those who want to buy meat in a specific cut.
Packing meat with plastic is useful not only for industries, butchers and supermarkets, but for anyone who wants to keep food at home. For this, in addition to having a good plastic film, which really protects food, it is necessary to have some cares:
- Each cut of meat has its own freezing time: 8 months for whole pieces, 6 months for fractional pieces (cubes, steaks, etc.) and 3 months for ground meat;
- Very large pieces are more difficult to freeze. So make your daily life easier by freezing enough portions to be used at once, because after defrosting the meat should not be frozen again.
- Pre-freezing meat preparation is also important: you don't need to wash or season it, just remove excess fat and fractionate.
- The packaging is essential: before taking it to the freezer, use plastic wrap to wrap the meat or place it in plastic bags suitable for food.
One last tip, but no less important, is not to freeze the meat in the Styrofoam tray that comes from the supermarket / butcher. That's because Styrofoam is a thermal insulator that helps keep meat at a cool temperature during transport to your home. So if you put it directly in the freezer or freezer, the piece will not be frozen evenly.