Dehydration as a method of preserving foods has been emphasized recently by the need for stable and concentrated foodstuffs. Materials heretofore processed in other wa;rs are now being dried in great quantities in an effort to fill domestic and export demands. I n common n-ith most other processing methods. dehpdration modifies the nutritii-e values of foods. I t is imperative that -ire know the nature and extent of these changes. This is especially true of meat. rrhich ordinarily contributes important amounts of proteiu and of the B-complex vitamins to the American diet.For dietary calculations only the nutritive value of the final product need be h o r n , but from a more comprehensive scientifk standpoint it is important to study the changes occurring during processing. Poling, Schultz, and Robinson (1943) have s h o r n that the dehydration process does not cause any significant protein deterioration. The present investigations were carried out to determine the extent to which the vitamins of beef and pork are retained during dehydration in plant-scale operations.In general, vitamin losses have been found to be similar to those taking place during cooking [ JIcIntire. Schweigert: Henderson, and Elveh jem (1943)l. During the drying operation itself surprisingly little loss occiirs.Although the methods of meat dehydration are generally known, and have been recently revierred by Eragbill (1943). a brief outline of the procedure which was followed with the samples under consideration will aid in interpreting the data. With both beef and pork the initial step is the precooking of one-to two-thousand-pound lots of boned and cubed meat in steam-jacketed kettles. The meat is stirred occasionally during this operation. Pork is cooked for 30 minutes after reaching an internal temperature of 73.9"C. (165°F.) : beef is usually cooked a few minutes longer so as to remove more of the moisture. Internal temperatures of the products at the end of the precook have risen to 82.2"C.(180°F.). Following the precook, beef is ground and then dried in a current of warm a i r in a rotary drier. Pork is handled differently. During cooking it yields a broth n-hich is drawn off. skimmed to remore fat, and then concentrated under a 24-inch vacuum to a solids content of approximately 50 per cent. This concentrated broth is later reincorporated srith the pork after the latter has been dried in the same tvpe of drier as the beef. By adding calculated quantities (based on moisture and f a t analysis) of the fat which had been previously separated. the remising step may also 'The data in this paper Fere presented before the Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry of the American Chemical Societ? a t the Detroit meeting, April 12, 1943.
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