Does anyone know how them make prepared meats 'shelf stable.'? All of the packages have the same ingredients as regulare prepared meats that need to be refridgerated.

SK

-- Steven Kayser (skayser@home.com), February 11, 1999

Answers

Radiation! Ya nuke all those nasty little bacteria.

This is one method, anyway...

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@anonymous.com), February 11, 1999.

Yes, you could use radiation if you don't mind the following things: 1) the food is dead, no life force, 2) the radiation creates all kinds of radiation-byproducts in the food. 3) there has been NO testing to see what effect all those byproducts have upon the human body. You're gambling that this dead food will sustain your live body, and won't harm you.

No thanks. :)

Only ways I know that are practical to store meats are: canning (glass or metal), and making it into jerky.

-- Bill (billclo@hotmail.com), February 11, 1999.

1) Irradiated ffod has been around for several decades.

2) Irradiation creates NO byprducts in the food irradiated and there is no radiation left. (You do not have radiation "byproducts" after you get a dental X-ray, either)

3) I should certainly hope it's dead! I just want the Carbs, proteans, etc. out of it!!

Look at the literature in this process!! It was established as safe in the 60's, and has been re-established over and over again for the anti-nuke alarmists!

Chuck whoj happens to share an alma mater with the guy who designed the process.

-- Chuck, night driver (rienzoo@en.com), February 11, 1999.

Personally, I like my food alive and squirming as I sink my fangs into the jugular.... uh, sorry, wrong uh, isn't this alt.2kvampire

-- RD. ->H (drherr@erols.com), February 11, 1999.

Chuck,

If you want to take the FDA's word that it's safe, you are welcome to. I won't. They are the last people I'd trust to tell me whether or not a particular process is safe. Case in point: Bovine growth hormone. Dairy farmers use it to increase milk production in cattle. Problem is, it seems to encourage certain forms of cancer.

Monsanto makes it, and profits enormously from it. Funny thing is, the people who approved it at the FDA used to work at Monsanto. They approve it, and then go back to work at Monsanto. Funny coincidence, eh? Bunch of corrupt SOB's.

The FDA and the medical profession in general use a military type "acceptable risk" concept. They don't consult with the public to determine if their idea of acceptable risk is alright with the rest of us. If they say that, for example, a 5% increase in cancer is fine, as long as Monsanto makes a killing, it's ok. (it may be different than 5%, but I used that as an example).

I submit that if you're the one who might get ill and die, it may not an acceptable risk to YOU. I'd rather they label the product with what processes were used to produce it and let me decide for myself, instead of treating me like expendable chattel.

As for radiation byproducts, no, not of the radioactive variety. However, the radiation does change/destroy some vitamins, and does interesting things to fats. I am not aware of any testing that has been done with these byproducts, some of which are not even identified, let alone understood.

-- Bill (billclo@hotmail.com), February 11, 1999.