A steak for 9.9 dollars comes with a frying pan. Is it really edible?

Review expert: Wang Guoyi, Postdoctoral Fellow in Nutrition and Food Safety, China Agricultural University

Some time ago, an internet celebrity advertised and sold seasoned steaks labeled "original cut and marinated steaks" as "original cut steaks" during a live broadcast. He was eventually found guilty of false advertising and was fined 460,000 yuan.

Source: Shandong Business Daily

The report "2022 Steak Consumption Trend Insight" pointed out that China's beef consumption has climbed to 8.84 million tons, with a month-on-month growth rate of 11%. As a nutritious and delicate delicacy, steak is gaining favor among more and more consumers.

However, there are many types of steaks on the market, with prices ranging from tens to hundreds of yuan per steak, to "99 yuan for 10 slices" or even "69 yuan for 10 slices" in the name of promotion. The labels are also varied, such as "original cut", "whole cut", "conditioned", "spliced", "grain-fed", "grass-fed", etc. What are the differences between these steaks? What about the 9.9 yuan steak? Can we eat it?

Source: Wikipedia

1The difference between marinated steak and original cut steak

An internet celebrity promoted marinated steak as original cut steak and was eventually fined hundreds of thousands of yuan. What is the difference between "marinated steak" and "original cut steak"? Original cut steak actually refers to a whole piece of beef that is directly cut and packaged without any pretreatment. These steaks retain the most original form of beef, usually with larger pieces of meat, and have not been processed by fine grinding. The texture of the beef is clear, the color is bright red, the meat is tender and elastic. The "fillet steak", "sirloin steak" and "ribeye steak" that we often hear are all original cut steaks, and these nouns are also different parts of the cow.

Source: Wikipedia

In foreign countries, it is more commonly referred to as "prime beef steak". The name can tell its quality, but also highlights its high price.

Source: omahasteaks

What this internet celebrity is selling is actually another major category of steak sold in my country - "conditioned steak". This type of steak is often of inferior quality when selecting ingredients, but is processed with auxiliary ingredients during the production process, and after trimming, marinating and other steps, it has an appearance and taste similar to the original cut steak. The price is naturally lower. Whether it is original cut or conditioned, it is not something that can be bought for 9.9 yuan. Our protagonist today is the "synthetic steak" that really reaches the street stall price.

29.9 yuan synthetic steak

Synthetic steak is made from the small pieces of beef left over from the beef production process, which are not good-looking and are commonly known as "scraps". After mechanical processing and pressing, fillers and adhesives (such as carrageenan) are used to perfect the shape, and finally seasoned and marinated to get cheap steak. The cost of this kind of steak from raw materials to the production process is relatively low, so it costs 9.9 yuan per piece. Steak glued with "glue" sounds unreliable. Is it safe to eat? Next, let's take a look at the "glue" used for steak - carrageenan.

Carrageenan is a natural food additive extracted from red seaweed. It is a plant-based colloid substance. In the food processing industry, carrageenan is a common food additive used to make jelly and other products. It is also found in the ice cream and eight-treasure porridge we often eat. Does that mean that carrageenan can be eaten with confidence? Let's take a look at the views of two experts: First, the well-known nutrition expert Gu Zhongyi pointed out that carrageenan is a dietary fiber, and eating it in moderation can clean up harmful toxins that have accumulated in the intestines for a long time. In addition, Nan Qingxian, a professor at the School of Food Science and Engineering of China Agricultural University, said that carrageenan is extracted from plants and is not harmful in itself, and is allowed to be used in the domestic food processing industry.

It can be seen that both experts believe that the appropriate addition of carrageenan to food is acceptable to the human body , and the national standards also stipulate relevant usage specifications.

3 How to choose steak

Since carrageenan is safe to eat, does that mean that synthetic steaks can be bought without hesitation? It's not that simple. In order to control costs, this kind of cheap steak may "work hard" on the raw meat. In addition to the aforementioned use of minced meat produced during the whole beef processing process, the selected meat may be of poor quality. Even zombie meat, diseased beef and other meat of unknown origin may be used as the raw material for synthetic beef. In addition, there may be many problems in the processing process, such as irregular use of additives, substandard processing environment and hygiene, and illegal merchants directly inject beef fat to simulate the external texture of beef. This poses more safety hazards.

Source: i.ifeng

Therefore, when choosing steak, you must keep your eyes open and compare again and again.

First, you need to read the label. If there is only "beef" in the ingredient list and no other ingredients, it is a raw cut steak; if there are words such as "whole cut, conditioned, marinated" on the label, it is a seasoned steak; if there are additives such as "carrageenan", "TG enzyme", "tenderizer powder" in the ingredient list, and the processing method is "synthetic", it is a synthetic steak.

Secondly, look at the appearance. Original cut steaks are cut directly, so the shape is naturally irregular, and the surface texture is clear and regular, while the shape of the prepared steaks and synthetic steaks is generally regular round cakes, the color is relatively dark, and the surface texture is scattered and unclear. But it should be noted that when buying steaks online, you should not trust the product introduction pictures and promotional pictures. It is best to find the truth in the comment area, or directly use the label to distinguish.

Finally, the price can also be used to assist in the judgment. Original cut> Modified> Synthesized, the original cut steak ranges from forty or fifty to hundreds of yuan per slice; the price of modulated or whole cut steak is often around twenty yuan per slice; when it reaches nine yuan and ninety yuan per slice or even six yuan and ninety yuan per slice, only synthetic steak is possible. In addition, in order to further ensure the health and taste of the steak, it is recommended that you try to choose big brands and companies with good reputations, and pay attention to basic information such as production date and storage time. If you choose to condition or synthesize steak, you need to concentrate more, and it must be cooked to full when it is actually eaten. It cannot be made into different degrees of doneness like original cut steak. After ensuring safety, let's consider the nutritional value of these types of steaks.

Theoretically, they are all made of real beef, and the nutritional content is not much different. They are rich in protein and low in fat. But as mentioned above, we cannot guarantee the ingredients of conditioned steak and synthetic steak. And generally speaking, the purpose of processing is to cover up the original defects of beef. The quality of cheap steak cannot be compared with original cut steak.

Source: Wikipedia

If you are looking for nutritional value and quality, it is not recommended to choose cheap steaks. If you really want to choose steaks that have been conditioned and processed, it is recommended to choose a good manufacturer and look at the labels, and you can also buy cheap steaks with confidence.