This article was first published in May 2023.
A popular Kiwi social media user has caused a stir on social media after he questioned if supermarkets have been adding liquids to their meat.
TikTok user @thecontraversialkiwi, who has nearly 40,000 followers, posted the video entitled 'Is our meat getting pumped up with fluid?' after a recent bad experience cooking.
"The other night, I cooked dinner and I used mince and I used chicken and I was absolutely horrified with the amount of liquid, water, fat, or whatever it was that came out of these," the man said.
The man cooks 1kg of "5 percent fat" beef mince from the supermarket, as well as 1kg of "premium" mince from the butchery.
"It's premium mince, so the fat content is very, very low," he added.
He then strains the excess liquid from the two minced meats and compares them to see how much raw weight was lost during cooking.
The supermarket mince lost about 30 percent of its raw weight, while the butchery mince lost about 10 percent.
"I think I know why it's happened, but can anyone explain to me why… I'm losing 290 grams on the Countdown one and 90 grams on the butcher's one," he pondered.
The video has attracted thousands of comments from people wondering why the difference in liquid content was so large.
"Just wait till you find out how much of it is human meat mixed in," one person humorously wrote.
One commenter didn't seem to know what was going on, asking: "Don't they also pump the chicken with water?"
"Not an expert but you will always lose some liquid during cooking however over one-quarter seems a bit excessive," a third person said.
Some claiming to be butchers seemed to have the answer.
"Icewater [has] been added in the process of making mince," one of them said.
"You should use ice when mincing meat so it doesn't cook, but should still look like the butcher mince," the second added.
Newshub contacted a butchery in Tāmaki Makaurau who said they put their meat straight through the mincer without adding liquids or other ingredients.
A spokesperson for Countdown told Newshub the company does not add water to any of its meat products.
"Increasing the water content of a meat product would negatively impact it by increasing the risk of contamination,' the spokesperson said.
They added several factors can impact the moisture content of mince.
"This includes the amount of intramuscular fat and water in the meat, how the meat is prepared, and how long the meat has aged before it's vacuum sealed or stored."
Finely-ground meat products, including mince or burger patties, have a high surface area-to-weight ratio, meaning they release more moisture when cooked than fillets or steaks.
Kit Arkwright, CEO for Beef + Lamb New Zealand, told Newshub that despite the lack of robust science in the TikTok video, the man's key claims are correct.
"The weight loss of cooked beef can be over 33 percent, depending on factors such as cooking method, temperature, and duration," he said.
Meanwhile, moisture content can vary due to the animal's age, diet, genetics, mincing processes, and storage conditions.
"Ageing beef can result in lower moisture content, possibly reducing weight loss during cooking," Arkwright added.
Beef + Lamb's website states smaller portion cuts tend to lose more moisture when cooking than larger cuts.
He said the mincer machine's grind size also affects moisture loss, "with finer mince potentially losing more weight during cooking."
The Food Act (2014) makes it illegal to add preservatives to raw meat, according to Arkwright.
