There are many advantages of using pre-cooked meat toppings and fillings.  Let’s concentrate on the top four:

1. Food Safety and Product Liability.  We all know the risks of handling uncooked meats.  Contamination problems and food-borne illnesses due to uncooked or undercooked meats, or cross-contamination of raw meat to fully prepared foods, appear on television and print news almost weekly.  In some instances, the severity of the illness can be death.  Raw meat inherently contains high amounts of bacteria.  Proper cooking destroys the bacteria that causes food-borne illness and spoilage.  Using pre-cooked meats not only assures optimal food safety, but also provides reduced liability.

2. Product Stability.  Raw meat does not last as long as precooked meat.  Uncooked meat products typically must contain synthetic antioxidants to maintain a minimal level of stability to prevent oxidation (rancidity).  Freezing raw sausage products deteriorates from product stability and flavor since uncooked sausage takes much longer to freeze than pre-cooked toppings and fillings.  Cooked meats have a much slower oxidation rate, thus have a longer shelf life.

3. Convenience.Using pre-cooked meat toppings and fillings is much more convenient to use then uncooked meat products.  Right after cooking, Burke pre-cooked meat toppings and fillings are rapidly frozen into an individually quick frozen (IQF) state, locking in freshness.  Their meat nuggets and crumbles can be kept in this IQF condition and used only when needed.  Uncooked meats must be thawed before using, creating purge loss, reduced freshness, risk of cross-contamination (an enormous food safety risk!) and reduced “in-process” inventory.

4. No Waste. There is no waste or grease to dispose when using pre-cooked meat toppings and fillings.  And, there is no excessive grease on top of the pizza or make-table.

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