Update February 2015: For a live taste review, open The Great Canadian Meat Company Teriyaki Beef Jerky (Review #2).
Jerky from The Great Canadian Meat Company is a fairly common sight in Ontario, Canada, especially the further you travel north. This review will focus on their teriyaki beef jerky flavor.
The Great Canadian Meat Company was founded in 1992, in Whitby, Ontario, as a two man operation. They seem to have done well, where they appear to have a fairly large distribution network. This was one of the first bags added to my jerky bag collection back in 2008. This teriyaki bag of jerky was bought at a convenience store in Mississauga, Ontario. On their web site they state: “It is our daily mission to research the finest raw materials and use Canadian content whenever possible making us a true Canadian Company”. They also make pepperoni and beef sticks.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Sugar, Water, Salt, Spice, Soy Sauce (Water, Soybean Extract, Wheat Flour, Monosodium Glutamate, Salt), Molasses, Sodium Ascorbate, Sodium Nitrite, Smoke Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat
The beef used is not guaranteed to be free of growth hormones or additional antibiotics. Also, the beef is not guaranteed to have at least partial free range access to graze on grass. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Good (8/10) rating.
The liquid marinade is just water, and an unhealthy brand of soy sauce. That makes up most of the ingredient list.
The sugar level is fairly high at 6 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky, where 5 grams of sugar or less would be preferred for a teriyaki based flavor. The salt level is also very high at 470mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. We would rather see the salt level not exceed 350mg.
This jerky uses unhealthy sodium nitrite as a preservative. Another interesting preservative used is sodium ascorbate, where ascorbate is referred to as vitamin C. This jerky does not qualify to be MSG free. The soy sauce uses MSG.
Fair (4/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Update February 2015: For a live taste review, open The Great Canadian Meat Company Teriyaki Beef Jerky (Review #2).
In fairness I did not keep great notes on taste in 2008. The jerky strip thickness is medium, and the texture is somewhat moist. The overall taste was a bit above average, I am not too sure anymore how strong the teriyaki flavor was.
The cost of this bag was $2.49 which would rate as cheap. Even today this bag still sells for $2.49.
Bag Review
As with any product made in Canada, there must be French translations for everything, and there is no exception here. Not surprisingly, the bag is not resealable, which is common for a 34 gram bag. The logo contains trees and leaves, which is very Canadian looking.
On the back of their jerky bag they describe how only the finest ingredients and highest quality of beef are used. There is no apparent slogan on the bag. Some facts printed are “High in Protein”, and “Low in Fat”.
The majority of bag categories have been met. There are some numbers imprinted on the bag, which I presume is the best before date, but I am unable to read it.
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