MMO in Sausage: What Really Lies Behind the Mysterious Abbreviation.

On the sausage shelves - eyes are scattered: some surprise with authorial recipes, new products, others put Soviet GOSTs in the first place. Some manufacturers honestly try to make the product accessible to the consumer, while others, lacking high-tech production, set a high price and invest significant money into convincing us that 'expensive means quality.'

In general, competition in the meat products market in Ukraine is very high. And while small battles (in the form of promotions, giveaways, special offers) are fought for the buyer's wallet, real battles are waged for our minds. The main instrument in these battles is myths.

MMO - what is it?

This is an abbreviation for 'mechanically deboned meat.' It is obtained by mechanically separating the fleshy tissue from the bones of carcasses and their parts using special equipment. As a result of separation, a pasty minced meat is produced, which is 'mechanically deboned meat' (MMO).

Perhaps the most important stage in the production of MMO is conducting laboratory tests on each batch of products. The manufacturer is obliged to assess the product according to criteria such as mass fraction of protein, moisture, fat content, number and size of bone inclusions. All these indicators must comply with the accepted standards.

Why are we scared of MMO?

Alongside mechanical deboning, manual deboning is still used - this is when a person directly participates in the process of separating meat from bones. In this case, the costs for this part of production increase, but to justify them, manufacturers claim that only meat gets into the minced meat for sausage products this way. And simultaneously, they 'scare' consumers about MMO, claiming that there is no telling what is in it.

How do they do it? The fact is, during mechanical deboning, when muscles are removed from bones, skin, subcutaneous connective and fatty tissue, as well as bone marrow, get into the deboned meat. And this picture is used to frighten consumers so often.

And very unjustly, as MMO is no worse than so-called 'pure' meat. The main aspect in the production of MMO is the strict adherence to the ratio of the meat raw material used for deboning, which in turn ensures compliance with GOST requirements in terms of quality indicators.

How to choose a reliable sausage producer?

MMO is a completely quality product for use in the food industry. However, this is true only in cases where manufacturers adhere to all technological requirements.

But the competition in the Ukrainian meat products market is high. And, unfortunately, small productions often do not monitor quality and use raw materials from dubious suppliers. And here it is better to trust a large and well-known manufacturer.

In writing this material, we learned how the production process of TM 'Bashchynskyi' is organized.

TM 'Bashchynskyi' is one of the trademarks of a huge holding. Here, the latest equipment from leading global manufacturers is used in production. All raw materials come from intra-holding enterprises. There is strict control at every stage of production.

The well-known brand develops taking into account consumer tastes. As the technologists of TM Bashchynskyi told us, when there is quality raw material and technological capabilities, it is possible to please buyers even with the most sophisticated tastes. However, our attempts to learn how the technological process of small productions is organized were not successful. This is not surprising: about 30% of productions operate in the shadows. It is simply impossible to monitor the conditions under which their products are prepared.

Thank you for the assistance in creating this material to the project partner - TM Bashchynskyi.

When choosing sausage, consumers can pay attention to many factors, from the production method to the quality of raw materials. The competition among manufacturers is high, and it is important to trust reliable brands that adhere to all standards and ensure product quality. Establishing control at all stages of production is also crucial to ensure safety and quality for consumers.