In Defense Of Meat Glue

On the French Culinary Institute's Cooking Issues blog, Dave Arnold breaks down all the common misconceptions about meat glue (also know as transglutaminase or TG), and explains how the product can be used.

In March, Australian TV show Today Tonight did a story on meat glue (see the video below) that claimed that meat glue was used to "stick together scraps of meat to sell as prime cuts." Arnold could find no evidence of any companies committing meat glue fraud.

He explains that it is possible to tell when meat glue has been used on a product because the bonds are visible. He also debunks the claim that it is banned in the European Union, and that it is made from pig's or cow's blood (it is a naturally occurring microbe). See his full post on "the misunderstood magic of meat-glue" to learn more about how to handle potential bacteria contamination (the USDA's position is here.)

In a separate meat glue primer post, Arnold explains that TG strongly bonds "protein-containing foods together," and that the product is "safe, natural, and easy to use." Read the full primer to get into the specific details of meat glue.

Watch the clip below to see the tabloid-esque claims.

• Cooking Issues: Transglutaminase, aka Meat Glue
• Cooking Issues: The Trials of Transglutaminase—The Misunderstood Magic of Meat-Glue