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Why Is Corned Beef...
39 Answers
...so flaming expensive?
Just bought 3 slices at Sainsbury's - £2.50, equivalent to £2 per 100g! I could almost buy prime topside steak for that price. It used to be a cheap, nourishing food. Not anymore. I don't know what a tin costs these days but I bet it's not 99p, the price of the last one I bought. I now realise why, when I was in hospital, that the corned beef hash did not contain any corned beef.
Just bought 3 slices at Sainsbury's - £2.50, equivalent to £2 per 100g! I could almost buy prime topside steak for that price. It used to be a cheap, nourishing food. Not anymore. I don't know what a tin costs these days but I bet it's not 99p, the price of the last one I bought. I now realise why, when I was in hospital, that the corned beef hash did not contain any corned beef.
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Oh dear, seems to be a serious set of misconceptions here.
All corned beef is NOT imported into the UK tins. Standard 340g cans, which are the most common size stocked by stores in the UK, are packed and labelled in the country of origin. They cannot be packed or relabeled elsewhere due to strict country of origin, USA FDA and EEC regulations.
Typically, a 340g Brazilian corned beef can will bear a circular stamp on the end with the words "Brasil Inspecionada" and a packing/processing station code. That stamp cannot be applied to the can in any other country other than the country of origin. Furthermore, the words "Packed Under Brazilian Government Inspection" will be found somewhere on the label. These words again have a legal standing and obviously this eliminates at a stroke the possibility of Brazilian inspectors inspecting the packing elsewhere in the world!
Bulk corned beef packed in tins for catering use bears the same type of stamps and codes and is indeed sliced by food processors and repackaged for sale in those plastic packs of 4 slices or so in the supermarket deli section. Supermarkets can obviously slice the stuff themselves which is what the OP purchased.
Finally, I've been asked once or twice why tinned corned beef has so much fat on the outside when opened. Having visited a cannery in Brazil a few years ago, I confirmed what I'd prevously known. Corned Beef is a liquified product. It's poured into the cans. The fat rises to the surface in all cases. I still love the stuff all the same!
There's also canned corned beef in the shops that originates from France if you you keep your eyes peeled.
All corned beef is NOT imported into the UK tins. Standard 340g cans, which are the most common size stocked by stores in the UK, are packed and labelled in the country of origin. They cannot be packed or relabeled elsewhere due to strict country of origin, USA FDA and EEC regulations.
Typically, a 340g Brazilian corned beef can will bear a circular stamp on the end with the words "Brasil Inspecionada" and a packing/processing station code. That stamp cannot be applied to the can in any other country other than the country of origin. Furthermore, the words "Packed Under Brazilian Government Inspection" will be found somewhere on the label. These words again have a legal standing and obviously this eliminates at a stroke the possibility of Brazilian inspectors inspecting the packing elsewhere in the world!
Bulk corned beef packed in tins for catering use bears the same type of stamps and codes and is indeed sliced by food processors and repackaged for sale in those plastic packs of 4 slices or so in the supermarket deli section. Supermarkets can obviously slice the stuff themselves which is what the OP purchased.
Finally, I've been asked once or twice why tinned corned beef has so much fat on the outside when opened. Having visited a cannery in Brazil a few years ago, I confirmed what I'd prevously known. Corned Beef is a liquified product. It's poured into the cans. The fat rises to the surface in all cases. I still love the stuff all the same!
There's also canned corned beef in the shops that originates from France if you you keep your eyes peeled.
Incidentally, having seen the labelled cans packed into their outer cardboard cases in the cannery, I can assure you that the labels are on the cans before they leave the country of origin. The individual cans are not relabeled in their country of destination.
In support of this, shop workers will confirm that the outer cardboard case of the corned beef packaging also bears the cannery packing stamps. As I said earlier, use of such a stamp is illegal except in the country of origin.
In support of this, shop workers will confirm that the outer cardboard case of the corned beef packaging also bears the cannery packing stamps. As I said earlier, use of such a stamp is illegal except in the country of origin.
No EDDIE51, it's not the norm in most canneries. I watched cans being labelled with Princes labels and the line was then stopped to allow calibration of a stamp bearing a different code number. Following the calibration, the next batch were labelled with Tesco labels. It's in the cannery's interest to distinguish batch numbers so that they can pinpoint production problems including contamination issues to an extent greater than has been implied elsewhere in this post.
Stop and imagine what would happen when a batch recall was necessary. It would at a stroke clear the supermarket shelves of corned beef if they all bore the same number. I think the supermarkets would have something to say about that and yes, batch recalls of corned beef cans has happened in the UK.
I am grateful that you accept that it is incorrect to state that the cans are labeled anywhere other than the original cannery. Times are hard EDDIE51 and I really can't see the viability of running a factory where workers devote their time to machinery that label corned beef cans especially when the task is best performed in the country of origin.
Stop and imagine what would happen when a batch recall was necessary. It would at a stroke clear the supermarket shelves of corned beef if they all bore the same number. I think the supermarkets would have something to say about that and yes, batch recalls of corned beef cans has happened in the UK.
I am grateful that you accept that it is incorrect to state that the cans are labeled anywhere other than the original cannery. Times are hard EDDIE51 and I really can't see the viability of running a factory where workers devote their time to machinery that label corned beef cans especially when the task is best performed in the country of origin.
I am certain I remember a recall of corned beef and it was for several brands.The key identification to look for was the code and number on the bottom of the tin.
In the case you saw surely the last of the 'Princes' cans would be the same batch of meat as the first of the 'Tesco' cans?
I saw something similar at a factory making biscuits. They were packing biscuits for a brand name company, the line stopped and they changed the packs to 'Sainsbury's' then it started again, same biscuits different packs.
In the case you saw surely the last of the 'Princes' cans would be the same batch of meat as the first of the 'Tesco' cans?
I saw something similar at a factory making biscuits. They were packing biscuits for a brand name company, the line stopped and they changed the packs to 'Sainsbury's' then it started again, same biscuits different packs.
You can of course make your own,ah Brisket one of my favourite cuts.
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Yes, multiple recalls do happen but they don't go down well with the supermarkets. There was fairly recently a recall on Asda "value" corned beef as it had been contaminated with a veterinary drug. In this case, it was only the Asda branded products that were affected which goes to show that batch isolation can work. I also remember one recall involving Libby's corned beef a good few years ago but I understand there have been others. In the US there have been innumerable recalls of Brazilian corned beef for one reason or another.
In the cannery I visited, I was told that the meat canned under the Tesco label was of different origin to the Princes one and there was quite a complex shifting of machinery, filling tubes etc on the production line when they went from canning one to canning the other. It seemed quite logical at the time and fitted in with my idea of how it should be done despite it taking around 20 minutes to alter the machinery.
I was there to advise an international team of microbiologists, biochemists and food technology experts regarding the elimination of a particularly nasty pathogen. My fee was U$D15000 for 4 days work but I spent the nights in a tin shack in monsoon conditions and came back to the UK with the flu! Funny how you remember these things.
In the cannery I visited, I was told that the meat canned under the Tesco label was of different origin to the Princes one and there was quite a complex shifting of machinery, filling tubes etc on the production line when they went from canning one to canning the other. It seemed quite logical at the time and fitted in with my idea of how it should be done despite it taking around 20 minutes to alter the machinery.
I was there to advise an international team of microbiologists, biochemists and food technology experts regarding the elimination of a particularly nasty pathogen. My fee was U$D15000 for 4 days work but I spent the nights in a tin shack in monsoon conditions and came back to the UK with the flu! Funny how you remember these things.
Snap! Tonyav. There are few things nicer in this world than a corned beef & red onion butty.
I disagree with earlier posts that all corned beef is the same, just with different labels. As I have high blood pressure I check everything I buy for salt content and the different brands can have huge variations in salt per 100g. Even the lowest are on the salty side and as a result an occasional treat.
I disagree with earlier posts that all corned beef is the same, just with different labels. As I have high blood pressure I check everything I buy for salt content and the different brands can have huge variations in salt per 100g. Even the lowest are on the salty side and as a result an occasional treat.
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