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A NEW way of tenderising meat has just one snag—it involves a hefty
explosion.

Most people tenderise meat with a culinary hammer, bashing it repeatedly to
break down muscle fibres. Or you can add meat-tenderising powder, which contains
an enzyme that digests muscle fibre and connective tissue. But how do you
tenderise meat on an industrial scale?

Researchers at the US Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Maryland,
think they have an answer. They have been blasting meat with water at explosive
pressures. And they have found their process also kills food-poisoning bacteria,
such as E. coli, in the meat.…

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