Besides being an incredibly good product, Biltong is a snack that stands out for being light and very healthy.

But how many times have we heard this claim/adjective in ads? It seems that everything nowadays is healthy. At least that´s what manufacturers say.

Let´s take some practical example, foie gras La Piara – a Spanish leading brand. The main benefit they sell is “rich in iron.” Of course, the liver is rich in iron, but do we need to eat a product that is pure fat to incorporate iron in the diet? The answer is no. Lentils or biltong it contain a high intake naturally. The La Piara products  try to give the impression of a healthy product due to iron avoiding the speak about what they really is: fat.

Or Kellogg cereals that provide fiber and B vitamins main benefit. It seems a light and healthy product but are actually refined carbohydrates (mostly) with a high-calorie content, since the ration recommended are 30g and we all know that nobody takes only a handful of cereal flours in a bowl in the morning. Again, is it necessary to take as many calories to add B vitamins in the diet? No. There are many products, such as biltong who have it naturally.

As we have seen, communication / advertising can be misleading, if not tendentious. They highlight what they want to show and hide what they dont want you to see. That lacks of honesty to the consumer and so brands needs to be more transparent.

So this section of the blog is dedicated entirely to share ALL relevant nutritional information both speaking evil as good.

1. NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION

KuBdu Biltong is mostly pure proteins of high biological value.

The big problem of obesity today is the excess consumption of both fat and no refined sugars.
All marketed snacks are made >90% of carbohydrates and fats. No protein options. Until the arrival of Biltong (dried beef shavings), which are necessary for a balanced diet and proper functioning of the body.

The first thing is to talk about the composition.
In the table below you can observe the average composition of Biltong. As you can see, it stans out for its low caloric value, being pure protein (19 of the 21 essential amino acids) and naturally contain various minerals such as iron and vitamins, especially group B:

Source: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 19 (2006) NDB No: 2302

This is the most comprehensive nutritional analytics giving you an accurate idea of ​​the nutritional profile of Biltong.

As you can see this is not just a tasty and nutritious snack (free of mechanical/chemical/termical processes) but we are speaking of pure protein: more than 55% pure, raw and natural animal protein that the human body is designed to metabolize with proteases. Mind the virtual absence of carbohydrates and the high content of most of the amino acids (components of proteins) that would not have survived the typical cooking like in Jerky.

There is no product that looks like (or known) it regarding its nutritional profile. We speak of essential amino acids, minerals, vitamins and lipids that can only be obtained by eating meat or fish cooked not buy cans or processed supplements.

However Kubdu Biltong is the only one made with top quality silverside of beef from the Pyrenees. Calves are virtually ecological as they are both grass-fed and eat natural cereals, no use of antibiotics neither hormones, so the quality of the meat is clearly outstanding. Our meat lacks the official BIO certificate just because paying for it would increase the raw material   by 50%-100% and so the end retail price would be much hiogher. We prefer to have a product with the same features but without having to pay so much more as we care for your pocket as well.

These features makes our meat so premium that the nutritional profile is even better: more protein and less fat!

• Calories: 253kcal/100gr

• Proteins 56-57%
• Humidity (water content): 27%
• Fat: 3,5% (from which saturated 1.7%)
• Carbohidratos: 1.6-3.5% (from which sugars 1.6%)
• Sodium: 1,5%
• Ashes at 550ºC (minerals): 7-8%

       Source: analisys Alitest feb2015

The fact of using male calf provides us with more protein and less fat than the original/traditional South African Biltong, plus get a unique texture and flavor.

We have a (small) percentage of carbohydrates since we use some Balsamic Modena Vinegar from red grapes from La Rioja region in maceration for a round and unique flavor. We are unique in the world to do so.

If you have a pack in your hands you will surely see some worse data than the one we have just provided, the reason is simple. We had to print the packs before our final production and therefore we had to use some preliminary data from a production made with female calves (more fat).

In the near future we will be copied by other companies, we know that because this product is soooo good. Therefore you will be offered a similar product of lower quality to be competitive price, but they will never succeed in producing a product as premium as ours as we gather and hold the expertise and knowledge of someone who carries Biltong in his blood. And my personal commitment is to always produce the highest quality, authentic. From the very first moment we have innovated and made something unique and exclusive worldwide that is attracting the interest of many others. We are the pioneers, the brave ones and the ones steering this new category, and all that will be materialized into new and exciting products.

2. WHO REPORT: LINKING THE RED PROCESSED MEAT WITH COLON CANCER

In October 2015, a report written by the WHO linked consumption of red meat processed with the possible development of colon cancer. Thus listing red meat in the same list as tobacco or herbicides.

About that we wanted to state the following:

· Too many different products are grouped under the name of red meat, while there´s huge differences among them in terms of composition, process and metabolic response.
· Kubdu Biltong is a product that is almost non-processed as its a natural maceration and drying threfore neither its structure is altered or subjected to any physical, thermal or chemical artificial process.
· The main binding to colon cancer is the use of nitrites and nitrates as additives, Kubdu Biltong does not use or nitrates or nitrates. As I have explained previously it´s meat, vinegar, spices and additives (mainly include potassium sorbate is an antifungal, and monosodium glutamate as flavor enhancer). Furthermore colon cancer has a high inherited genetic component so the direct implication of this and the diet which triggers the process of cell replication is unknown.
· Meat is one of the pillars of a balanced diet and should be consumed regularly because it brings many benefitial metabolits for the body. However, like all foods should not be abused because everything in excess is bad.

3. THE INGREDIENTS LIST

Biltong is a product that is made with three basic ingredients:

1. premium fresh meat (never frozen) directly from the slaughterhouse.
2. spices
3. vinegar (in our case we use Balsamic Vinegar of Modena)

Spices contain a base of sea salt, black pepper, brown sugar and also herbs such as coriander, paprika or chili that give a special flavor.

The spices are irradiated to ensure their safety. It is a sterilization method that is applied in all the spices on the market.

They also contain additives. The word additive has been demonized much and has been linked directly to bad things and “E” s. The truth is that an additive is no more than a natural or artificial substance added to provide texture (ie.emulsifier), flavor (ie. Flavoring), nutrition (ie. Mineral) or preservation (ie. Preservatives) mainly . All this can be natural or artificial.

What additives containing Kubdu Biltong Original?
· Preservatives: the main one is vinegar (a natural preservative). The preservation is supported by protective atmosphere (lack of oxygen prevents rust and microorganisms reproduction) and the natural effect of salt. It contains no added preservatives!
Potassium sorbate used to avoid the appearance of mold on fresh meat and ensure that microorganisms do not grow during the drying process.
· Natural coloring: caramel
· Flavour enhancer: sodium inosinate and monosodium glutamate. The latter is not very popular in Anglo-Saxon countries, although widely used throughout the food industry. Therefore we are working on replacing it soon by one completely harmless.
· Stabilizer: silicon dioxide and ribonucleotides. Spices served to not agglomerate and stabilize the spice mixture.
· Natural antioxidant: citric acid. It serves to prevent the product / spices rancidity.

What additives containing Kubdu Biltong Spicy?

· Preservatives: the main one is vinegar (a natural preservative). The preservation is supported by protective atmosphere (lack of oxygen prevents rust and microorganisms reproduction) and the natural effect of salt. It contains no added preservatives! Sodium diacetate serves for protecting the spices.
Potassium sorbate used to avoid the appearance of mold on fresh meat and ensure that microorganisms do not grow during the drying process.
· Stabilizers.
· Natural antioxidant: citric acid. It serves to prevent the product / spices rancidity. The bell is easy to rancidity and that is why it has natural antioxidants such as alpha-tocopherol, BHA and BHT are artificial preservatives which are looking to replace soon by other natural.

All additives meet the applicable European directives and are commonly used in the food industry. They are used in very small quantities to assure stability and homogeneity of the product.

We try to work always with natural additives, and those who are artificial are being replaced to ensure 100% satisfaction of our consumers, remaining true to our values.

4. THE NUTRITIONAL TRAFFIC LIGHT

Our nutritional traffic light is privileged.

How does it work? It compares the composition with the recommended daily allowance (RDA) or Recommended Intake (IR) which is 2.000kcal for a woman (and 2.500kcal for a man. An athlete would consume about 4.000kcal)

The colour of the traffic light indicates (by a green, orange or red light) the percentage contained in each serving (40g in this case our single consumption bag) considering the IR.

Between 0-7% of the IR will be green, orange will be between 7-25% and over 25% will be red.

In our case, what it shows is that our product is LOW IN CALORIES, LOW IN CARBS and LOW IN FAT content.

Like any salty snack, our salt content is moderate (orange). We are working on reducing salt without prejudice of the flavour to apply it shortly.

5. ALLERGENS

Kubdu Biltong Original is a product that does not contain allergens, as it is made of meat, spices and vinegar.
Kubdu Biltong Spicy contains two allergens: Celery and mustard.

This product should be labeled gluten-free, lactose-free, eggs-free and soy-free. However we are obliged by law to put that it may contain traces of all of them. The reason is because the company that packages the spices in SouthAfrica, has a line in the factory where they pack spices blends containing these allergens. Hygienic and productive measures to prevent cross-contamination have been strictly implemented, but legally it is not enough to say that do not contain these allergens.

We performed random testing of gluten and lactose in our Biltong and all results have been negative so far.
Additionally, our product is HALAL certified by HALAL FOOD QUALITY INSTITUTE. This involves the slaughter and that the product contains no trace of pork.

I hope this information has been interesting enough and thorough.
If you have any questions, write a comment or hallo@kubdu.com