Bacon processing: working in partnership to make food healthier

With the current trend of reducing salt intake, Jan Oostveen explains how Van der Mey and GEA Food Solutions are working together to make the bacon process healthier and more natural for their customers while keeping the delicious flavors they love.

Global consumers are becoming more aware of the impact of nutrition on their health and wellbeing, which is affecting their choice of meat products. At the same time, the time-poor customer wants cooking methods that are quick and easy when preparing meals for the family. In response, manufacturers are introducing more natural options.

A recent report from GlobalData, Opportunities in the Global Meat Sector (March 2023), found that consumers in Western countries are increasingly seeking out products they perceive as being ‘naturally healthy’. Further research* shows that concerns about salt consumption are driving avoidance, with more than half of consumers actively avoiding or limiting their salt intake.

A global consumer survey* discovered that while older age groups are the most likely to cut back on salt due to the risk of high blood pressure and other factors, younger consumers have also become more attentive to their sodium intake, with 44% of those aged 18-34 seeking out products considered ‘healthy’ and 42% considering salt/sodium to be an ingredient that has a negative impact on health.

As this trend towards healthy eating progresses, innovations that can reduce salt intake will appeal to the health-conscious younger generations.

* foodservice.globaldata.com/Analysis/details/ingredient-insights-salt-reduction

Working closely together in R&D

GEA and Van der Mey’s close relationship goes back to the 1970s, and the companies are relative neighbors in the Netherlands.

“Through the decades, more and more GEA equipment has been added to our installed base,” says Oostveen. “It started out with brine-injection equipment, but nowadays we are running tumblers, mixers, choppers, grinders, and all sorts of equipment in the marination and preparation division.

“Our experience with GEA has been very positive throughout the years, and we have also expanded to using their slicing and packaging machinery.”

The two companies have also collaborated on unique pilot studies, reveals Oostveen, whereby innovative new equipment and machinery designs have been tested on-site in real working environments.

“GEA is located relatively close to where we are. GEA’s testing equipment can be installed here in our factory in a dedicated room, where we can test the machine with our products and brands over several days in-situ,” he says.

We have been involved in a number of R&D projects with GEA. For instance, when they invented new technologies such as the vertical ScreenFilter system.”

GEA’s new gravity assisted system filters out proteins when the brine is recycled from the injector, so the same brine can be used for longer because it is cleaner.

“The brine filter uses a vertical screen, and they were looking for a place for field testing the equipment,” says Oostveen. “We gave them some floor space and some production to run, and they installed the machinery here and did quite a lot of testing.”

A successful partnership, built on trust and commitment

GEA and Van der Mey have a close relationship, and that demands a high level of trust and commitment, notes Oostveen.

“I think it’s an investment from our side as well as from GEA’s in this business relationship. They learned a lot from their testing, but so did we. So, in the end, we all benefit,” he adds.

Moving forward, Van der Mey has more plans, especially in regard to slicing and packaging, and it is currently running a project with GEA involving inspection and preventative maintenance.

In the industry today, highly skilled technicians are scarce, so Van der Mey is looking at the possibility of outsourcing this aspect of its production to GEA. As Oostveen points out: “GEA has all the knowledge about their own machines and they are located close by.” 

Van der Mey is also keeping a close eye on the current trends in the market.

“Cooked ham and bacon are cured products, meaning sodium nitrite is used in brine for curing purposes. That’s what gives it its color, its flavor and – partly –safety. But, the ingredient, sodium nitrite, is becoming less and less popular, and that has a partial overlap with the whole processed-food discussion.

“That’s something we are looking at now: being able to offer an alternative recipe for a cured product without the use of sodium nitrite.”

Oostveen concludes that “it’s about the raw materials, the recipe, as well as the people, but also about the equipment we use. With regard to GEA’s equipment, they keep innovating and updating … to have a portfolio of machines that connect to what the market demands.”