Building a Better Burger? Food Equipment Maker Takes a Bite

Over the course of an average year, citizens of the United States consume almost 50 billion hamburgers, which works out to three per week, per person across the country. Some of these burgers come from famous fast-food chains and high-end restaurants, but many are also the product of back-yard BBQs and picnics. It’s no surprise, then, that grocery stores now sell a wide variety hamburger meat — everything from top-grade beef cuts to “stuffed” burgers or poultry alternatives. It’s also no surprise that burger eaters are getting pickier: with so many choices available, buyers have no problem passing over frozen hockey pucks for something more appetizing.

Now, a South African company says they can build better burgers using a new meat processing technology — is this what innovation tastes like?

Under Pressure

To make sure burgers get safely from farm to fork, most food processing plants use a form of high-pressure portioning. While the system is fast and relatively efficient, putting meat under this kind of strain has several drawbacks, most notably in taste and texture. Just like the first-time BBQ’er who shapes randomly sized-patties and then flattens them onto his grill, high-pressure processing impacts the taste and texture of ground beef and other meats such as fish or chicken. Worst case? A hamburger in name alone.

Food processing innovator Marel SA thinks they’ve found a better way with the RevoPortioner, which uses low-pressure technology to shape and portion meat. The result is a flavor profile that more closely matches the original source of protein and increased ability for processors to control the size and shape of portions. In other words, hamburgers handled by the RevoPortioner come out looking better, tasting better and give companies granular control over the finished product. This is especially important when dealing with local preferences — Americans, for example, tend to prefer their burgers bigger and fattier, while other countries opt for smaller serving sizes.

Clean Sweep

Of course, low pressure portioning isn’t without challenges. The biggest potential issue? Cleanliness. High-pressure systems require cleaning on a regular basis to remove organic material deposits along with scale build-up from moisture inherent to any meat processing system. This problem is exacerbated in a low-pressure environment where its possible to have a greater concentration of organics left behind after meat is shaped and packed. This isn’t a deal-breaker: companies considering the RevoPortioner just need to make sure they’re also opting for a best-in-class dry vapor steam cleaning solution to ensure their machinery is never contaminated.

Want a better burger? In America, the answer is always “yes”, and usually “can I have more than one?” High-class hamburger culture, however, has led to heightened consumer expectations but don’t fear: a better burger is on the way.

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