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Freeze‐drying of raw beef. III. —Influence of some packaging and some storage variables
Author(s) -
Bengtsson O.,
Bengtsson N. E.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2740190902
Subject(s) - modified atmosphere , chemistry , food science , oxygen , nitrogen , carbon dioxide , raw material , raw meat , shelf life , organic chemistry
Abstract Minimisation of oxygen exposure of freeze‐dried raw beef before packaging and during storage was studied in multifactorial experiments for its effect on the quality of the product, as was the effect of storage time and temperature, intramuscular fat content, and different head‐space gas compositions. Exposure of the freeze‐dried meat to the air before packaging under nitrogen, which is commercial practice today, clearly shortened storage life, particularly of meat with a high fat content. The effect could be counteracted by the application of an oxygen scavenging system, which proved effective at initial head‐space oxygen levels as high as 4%. The use of carbon dioxide in the head‐space reduced product quality compared with nitrogen or the hydrogen‐nitrogen mixture employed in the oxygen scavenging system. The red meat colour as well as quality as a whole was much better preserved by cold storage and particularly frozen storage, by packaging without pre‐exposure to the atmosphere or by using an oxygen scavenging system based on the reaction of oxygen with hydrogen over a palladium catalyst enclosed in the package. Of these methods, refrigerated storage is probably not a realistic solution under present commercial conditions.