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THE ROLE OF LIGHT AND SURFACE BACTERIA IN THE COLOR STABILITY OF PREPACKAGED BEEF
Author(s) -
SATTERLEE L. D.,
HANSMEYER W.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
journal of food science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1750-3841
pISSN - 0022-1147
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2621.1974.tb02881.x
Subject(s) - incandescent light bulb , fluorescent light , pigment , chemistry , fluorescence , myoglobin , light energy , food science , optics , biochemistry , physics , organic chemistry
When intact beef was packaged in a PVC film, stored at 5°C and illuminated with 250 ft‐c light, a significant alteration in color stability was observed when compared to storage in the dark. Fluorescent lights, emitting light of lower wavelengths, were most detrimental to color, in comparison to incandescent lights. Upon prolonged storage large bacterial numbers on the surface created a reducing environment and caused the conversion of surface MetMb to reduced Mb, which was responsible for the purple color that developed. Gel electrophoresis indicated that no significant alterations occurred in the structure of myoglobin or hemoglobin (color pigments) upon storage at 5°C for as long as 18 days. Color instability of meat stored under soft white fluorescent light is almost entirely due to the effect of the light, whereas color instability when stored under incandescent light is due to a combination of light energy and bacterial growth.