Dehydration of Meat The dehydration of meat and poultry in granule form for soup ingredients is dealt with in this chapter, as being of more practical importance than the drying of meat in larger cuts, such as slabs, dice, etc which can only be dehydrated by the AFD method. Outlets for the latter products are relatively limited in Europe, whereas there is a worldwide market for soup-making materials Meat granules and powders can be air dried or freeze-vacuum dried The latter system has the undoubted advantage of quick rehydration, which is beneficial for soup mixes but, as previously stated, it is an expensive system and, therefore, the air dried product still finds wide acceptance in what is a based. petitive market. It is on this system that the following processes are The dehydrator will require to have a completely separate plant for the handling of meat and poultry, as this cannot be carried out hygienically alongside vegetable processing. Ideally, the premises should be separate as well or, at least, properly subdivided if the two activities are carried on under the same roof. Otherwise, the required standard of hygiene cannot possibly be maintained. The local Health Authority should always be consulted before etting up a meat plant of any description, as there will inevitably be several by-laws in this context, which will have to be observed It is also essential to have adequate cold storage in the factory, both for short and long term storage of raw materials, Where the latter have to be bought in at special times of the year, in order to gain a seasonal purchasing price advantage, low temperature storage(-29"C)will also be a necessity9 Dehydration of Meat The dehydration of meat and poultry in granule form for soup ingredients is dealt with in this chapter, as being of more practical importance than the drying of meat in larger cuts, such as slabs, dice, etc which can only be dehydrated by the AFD method. Outlets for the latter products are relatively limited in Europe, whereas there is a worldwide market for soup-making materials. Meat granules and powders can be air dried or freeze-vacuum dried. The latter system has the undoubted advantage of quick rehydration, which is beneficial for soup mixes but, as previously stated, it is an expensive system and, therefore, the air dried product still finds wide acceptance in what is a very competitive market. It is on this system that the following processes are based. The dehydrator will require to have a completely separate plant for the handling of meat and poultry, as this cannot be carried out hygienically alongside vegetable processing. Ideally, the premises should be separate as well or, at least, properly subdivided if the two activities are carried on under the same roof. Otherwise, the required standard of hygiene cannot possibly be maintained. The local Health Authority should always be consulted before setting up a meat plant of any description, as there will inevitably be several by-laws in this context, which will have to be observed. It is also essential to have adequate cold storage in the factory, both for short and long term storage of raw materials. Where the latter have to be bought in at special times of the year, in order to gain a seasonal purchasing price advantage, low temperature storage (-29°C) will also be a necessity. 213