Why Phosphates in Food and Why We DO NOT Use Them

Hello Jerky Nation!

So here is part 2 of our little series "Chemistry has no place in Jerky". ;)

Today it's about phosphates. Phosphates occur naturally, but here we are talking about artificial phosphates. These are used in fertilizers, detergents, and.....in food. In the food industry, phosphates are used, among other things, as flavor enhancers (or declared as such?). They are needed to break calcium-magnesium bridges in muscle meat (in the actin and myosin filaments). This increases the water-binding capacity of the meat. Phosphates also raise the pH value of the meat protein and as a result, that protein can absorb more water.

What does all this mean in short? Phosphates in meat = higher water retention. A higher water content = more weight.

Officially, phosphates play the role of a flavor enhancer. In industrial reality, however, it is about weight. A higher water content means more weight. In meat production, phosphates practically act as "stretchers" or "fillers". So you buy a meat product with a certain weight indication. But to save money, the manufacturer uses phosphates to achieve the same sales weight. Clever, right? We don't want to be that "clever" and DO NOT use phosphates.

Phosphates bring all kinds of harm to the body and phosphate intake has doubled in the last 3 decades anyway. Phosphates hinder calcium absorption, dissolve calcium from the bones, and thus demonstrably increase the risk of osteoporosis. In addition, phosphate changes the inner walls of blood vessels and this greatly increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. For people with kidney disease, a high phosphate level can even be life-threatening.

Artificial phosphates, as used in the food industry, are soluble, unlike natural phosphates, and are therefore fully absorbed by the body. Our body is practically flooded with phosphates nowadays, even though it is known how harmful high phosphate levels are.

Conclusion: we DO NOT use phosphate. 50 grams of Simple Jerky IS 50 grams of Simple Jerky without us artificially increasing the water content and thus the weight of our product. Period!