Gustor Meatboutique is the first butcher's shop to launch the CLEAN LABEL
1. What does Clean Label mean?
A Clean Label product is a product in its purest form, with no added :
- preservatives
- colourings
- colour enhancers
- stabilisers
- emulsifiers
- phosphates
- thickeners
- etc. ...
Nor have these products been packaged in a so-called ‘protective’ atmosphere. In reality, these protective atmospheres often consist of a preservative gas or a combination of gases designed to give the product a beautiful colour or to prolong its shelf life.
Nothing of the sort!
2. Why the Clean Label?
- Consumers need clarity.
Almost every day, potential customers ask us what additives are in our products.
Most of the time, these questions are about allergens. Let's be clear: just because a product contains allergens doesn't mean it's a bad product, but we do need to ask ourselves whether these allergens are in the right place. Milk contains lactose, which is perfectly normal. The fact that sausages contain gluten, on the other hand, is not normal. Sausages and minced meat should be made from ground meat only, possibly with a special seasoning. Gluten has no place there... Except in products that are inferior in our eyes, which use gluten to allow X% water to be added without it being noticeable.
Just because a product is approved doesn't mean it's a good idea to use it.
- Many of our products have so much flavour that our customers wonder where that flavour comes from. This is particularly true of our matured meat... Well, let's be clear, the taste is only that of the product. It's specific to the type of product we offer, and there's no need for dubious manipulations to obtain it.
In a meat market awash with additives, marinades and coatings, it's almost easy to forget that there are still quality products out there that are naturally full of flavour.
One steak is not the same as another, and the same goes for chops or lamb.
- Let's go back to ‘ normal ’.
o Meat changes colour according to its exposure to oxygen.
o Cooked pork is grey, not pink.
o Lean ground beef does not ‘stick’ naturally.
o Water does not stick to meat.
o Tasty meat also has its own smell.
o ... And we could go on.
Many of the ‘qualities’ that the average consumer currently attributes to meat are the result of artificial processes, the addition of additives (even authorised ones) and the work of marketers who would have us believe that this is the way things should be.
Customers sometimes wonder why some of our products have a different colour to what they are used to.
Beef, for example, is mainly made up of muscle. Muscles need oxygen. It's the oxygen in the air that gives muscles their red colour. When we remove the oxygen from the packaging, the meat changes colour and becomes slightly browner, sometimes paler and less red. However, this does not affect the taste or quality of the meat.
And so we come back to this so-called ‘protective’ atmosphere. Our products are simply vacuum-packed, without using this combination of gases.
Why don't we add (permitted) colour stabilisers to our products, or binders to our burgers? Because they serve no purpose, can cause allergies or give consumers the wrong impression.
The natural state seems to us to be a much better choice.
At importers, we sometimes see meat with a shelf life of 6 months. It's understandable that supermarkets and the hotel and catering industry appreciate these products, which greatly simplify stock management. The label doesn't mention any preservatives. Well, this is NOT normal, and this type of product will never receive a ‘clean’ label at Gustor.
3. Why 2 Clean Label variants at Gustor?
Green Clean Label: only pure meat, no additives.
Blue Clean Label: pure meat with natural seasoning: sea salt, black pepper, aniseed, etc.
We use specific seasonings for certain products, such as our salsiccia. To avoid any misunderstanding: the Blue Clean Label also refers to 100% natural meat. We don't use ordinary cooking salt (from chemical processing), only natural sea salt. For customers with special dietary requirements or allergies, it is important to know that, in the case of Blue Clean Label, it is best to read the list of ingredients.
4. Do all Gustor products receive the Clean Label?
When we developed this label, we found that 95% of our products, representing 99% of sales, were already ‘Clean’.
We have removed certain products from our range that do not deserve the Clean Label, but we have kept others that are delicious and for which there is currently no Clean Label-compatible alternative. This is the case, for example, with Secreto 07 from De Laet-Van Haver. We are convinced that the arrival of Clean Labels will encourage more producers to ask themselves whether the addition of certain products is really essential to the quality of the product.
5. The future.
Gustor is hoping to set an example.
For too long, the meat and food sector (industry?) has remained discreet about adding ‘auxiliary’ products and has considered the use of chemical additives as the most normal thing in the world.
In practice, the fact that an additive is legal (usually thanks to intense lobbying...) is seen as carte blanche to use it indiscriminately.
When we see a famous chef on TV preparing a delicious pâté and using ‘coloured salt’ as a secret ingredient (in his own words, as a butcher), it breaks our hearts. Coloured salt contains nitrite, is 100% chemical and only serves to give the pâté a nice red colour after cooking, whereas the natural colour of oven-cooked pork is grey. A missed opportunity?
Back to ‘ normal ’, we say...
Rik and Jef Debouver
Chief Butchers @ Gustor Meatboutique
