Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science & Society, writes in the Montreal Gazette that you have probably never heard of André Jaccard, but if you eat meat, you have likely benefitted from his invention, although some would argue that the term “benefitted” has to be qualified. What cannot be argued is that back in the 1970s, Jaccard revolutionized an industry by patenting his meat-tenderizing machine!

Tough meat is a tough sell. And what makes for tough meat? An abundance of collagen, the robust protein that makes up what is generally referred to as “connective tissue.” To make meat more tender, collagen has to be disrupted either chemically or physically. Moist cooking for a long time will do this, as will aging, marinating in an acid solution or treatment with a plant enzyme such as papain, extracted from papaya. But collagen can also be degraded by grinding, pounding, or “jaccarding.”

Jaccard’s invention was a machine that tenderizes meat by piercing it with a series of needles and razor-sharp blades that surgically shred the connective tissue and thereby, at least according to the manufacturer’s claim, make any cut of meat “butter tender.” “Jaccarding” also allows more complete penetration of marinades and reduces shrinkage and cooking times. It is easy to see why such mechanically tenderized meat appeals to suppliers, retailers, caterers and restaurants. After all, it means being able to satisfy palates with cheaper cuts. But it may also mean exposing diners to some nasty microbes, such as the notorious E. coli O157: H7.

Roughly half of all cattle shed E. coli O157: H7 in their feces, and then end up contaminating their hides as they romp through the muck in feedlots. When their hides are stripped off after slaughter, the bacteria can be transferred to the underlying meat. Similar transfer can occur through removal of bacteria-tainted entrails. Should the contaminated meat then be ground, the bacteria can become distributed throughout. But not everyone who became sick from meat that originated in the XL plant ate hamburgers; some apparently became ill after eating roasts or steaks. This caused suspicion to be cast on jaccarded meat, given that the process can drive bacteria from surface deep into the tissues, where they may survive, especially if the meat is consumed rare.

Meat that has been tenderized in this fashion is not easy to identify, since the holes made by piercing seal up and vanish. If jaccarded cuts were labelled, as is now being considered, people who buy meat would at least be alerted to making sure that an internal temperature of 70 degrees is reached. Of course, it would be more difficult to know with absolute certainty with meat consumed in restaurants, hotels or catered events.