Will Lactic Acid Make the Meat Inedible?

Q:  I found out about your company through a friend on Facebook.  I have a corn allergy so grassfed meat is something I have been looking for.  However, I have questions as to how the animals are slaughtered and how the processing equipment is cleaned and how the meat is packaged.  Especially problematic: Lactic acid (for cleaning equipment) and citric acid (preservative used in soaker pads) are most often made from corn and will make the meat inedible for a corn allergic person.  I'm hoping that you do not use any corn derivatives on the equipment, the meat, or the packaging.  Attached is a very long list of the corn derivatives commonly found in foods (some on the list might not be sourced from corn), medications, and vitamins.  I actively avoid all that are sourced from corn.

Thanks for taking the time to look into this for me.  I will definitely share your answer with my corn-avoiding friends in the Facebook group Corn Allergy/Intolerance.

A:  A chemical compound or element derived from corn is not anything like corn.  For instance, water (pure H2O) derived from corn is pure water just like distilled water.  Oxygen derived from corn would be pure oxygen (O).  Here is a list of the PRIMARY elements found in corn:  Al, B, C, Ca, Cu, H, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, O, P, S, Sr, Zn.

Here is a link to the Table of the Elements.

Citric acid and lactic acid are particular chemical compounds.  From where they are derived has no relationship to the composition of the original more complex compound from which they may come.  Corn is a very complex compound because in addition to C, H, O it contains Al, B, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, S, Sr, and Zn.  This is an unequivocal fact that is lost on many.

Now lets turn to lactic and citric acids.  Note that the chemical formulas for lactic acid and citric acid are very similar, and in no way can they replicate corn.  That's because they are missing many, many other elements.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid

Molecular formula C6H8O7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactic_acid

Molecular formula C3H6O3

The building blocks for all living things contain C, H, O.  Without them you would not exist as a living thing.  But all living things contain other elements and in varying quantities.  That's why they are different.  So an element derived from corn is that element and that element alone because all the other properties of corn are subtracted out.

Understanding chemical science is why I know that the term "organic" is the most misunderstood, con word in the food business.  Because I know something about chemistry, I also know the difference between grain-fed meats and grass-fed meats.  Also, because of an understanding of the chemistry of animal body function I know that there are certain properties in corn that are very damaging to human body function and those same properties are also in all other grains such as oats, rice, wheat, rye, etc.  The world is chemical -- all of it.  And when it comes to nutrition and the reasons for why one should eat grass-fed meats, chemistry is the basis for knowing why.  So I don't ignore chemistry on one hand and embrace the very same kind of chemistry on the other.

BTW, if a cow eats a corn plant before it sets seed, it will be eating a very nutritious grass plant that is very good for the cow and very healthy for us if we eat the cow.  But if the cow eats the seed (the corn seeds that come from the cob) then the picture changes.  That's true with all grasses.  All grains come from annual grass plants.

I have dealt with your question numerous times.  The answer is always the same.  Many of our customers have food allergies and when they eat our grass-fed meats and stick to the Real Diet of Man they solve their health problems.  The concerns you are expressing are not hazards to one's health.  So with or without lactic acid the results will be the same.

I wrote this article in 1998.  Corn: It's What's Bad for You.  Therefore this topic of corn and nutrition is not new to me.

If you eat a proper diet that ends up balancing the omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the membranes of your body's cells, you will end up very healthy.  You can measure that balance with a blood lipid test.  From where the lactic acid is derived that is used to clean equipment will have no bearing on the results of your diet one way or the other.  The food will make all the difference.

One more point.  Lactic acid is naturally found in all animals, even your own body. 

http://www.lactic-acid.com/in_the_human_body.html