Freshly slaughtered meat is the freshest? Meat expert: chilled meat is safe and eco-friendly

Pork is the largest category of meat consumed in Taiwan, China, and domestic consumers have always preferred warm-body pork, with most people holding the belief that "frozen meat is not fresh" and that "warm-body meat is fresher and tastier." In fact, the pork we buy at traditional pork stalls is slaughtered in the early hours of the morning, around two or three o'clock, and sent straight to the stall. The stall has no hygiene protection measures whatsoever, and rats and cockroaches crawl everywhere in the market. Without low-temperature storage, the pork often reaches consumers' hands seven or eight hours later, and in the hot summer weather, this further accelerates the rate at which the pork spoils.

Chilled meat products: safe, hygienic and eco-friendly

So how can we balance the "hygienic safety" and the "freshness and tastiness" of meat? Associate Professor Chen Yicheng of the Department of Animal Science and Technology at National Taiwan University shared his experience of visiting traditional markets in Hungary and Greece, where local consumers also prefer warm-body meat, but the selling venues all have low-temperature refrigeration equipment (see photo below). From the perspective of people's habits and hygienic safety, chilled warm-body meat is a quite ideal compromise, and refrigeration consumes less energy than freezing. In China, consumers can choose chilled meat products bearing the CAS Excellent Meat Product mark. CAS Excellent Meat Products are cut, processed and packaged in a hygienic environment at 15°C, and the packaged meat products are stored, transported and sold in refrigerated (below 7°C) or frozen (below -18°C) conditions. Strict temperature control throughout the entire process can reduce microbial contamination and growth, ensuring the hygienic safety of the meat.

In addition, Professor Qiu Zhixian of the Department of Animal Science and Technology at National Taiwan University also suggested that agricultural authorities could start with traceability. Promoting a production-and-marketing traceability system would raise consumer confidence, and it is also a new opportunity to push Taiwan's agriculture toward refinement; promotional work must be carried out continuously. For the progress of the overall food hygiene environment, for Taiwan consumers who prefer fresh, warm-body, freshly slaughtered meat products, this is also a new concept and change that we must gradually accept.