The aim of this work was to determine selected microbiological and organoleptic changes of vacuum packed cooled beef imported from Argentina as one of the few South American countries which export beef to Europe. The changes were studied during its common shelf life (4 months) and 1 month thereafter in case of longer storage. The storage temperature was -1 °C to +2 °C. Four packages of boneless chilled heart of rump were used; all the values of each package were measured five times. Meat and juice weight, vacuum value, numbers of microbes, yeasts and moulds, pH of meat and juice were determined. Some organoleptic characteristics of meat and juice such as taste, aroma, colour, consistency and clearness of both of juice and broth after boiling were evaluated using Czech technical standards (ČSN). The vacuum value of the first package was 90 kPa; the number of the microbes was increasing adequately to time in all the packages. In the course of the entire shelf life period all the samples fulfilled the allowed limits so the meat was suitable for human consumption. During the tested period neither monitored pathogen microflora nor yeasts and moulds were present; pH of all samples was influenced by storage in the vacuum. Meat stored for 5 months showed changes in odour and presence of coliforms. Commencing spoilage of this sample rendered the meat not suitable for human consumption.

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The amount of power consumption of the product life cycle has a significant impact on global warming. To determine these negative impacts, life cycle assessment (LCA) is used. These methods are time-consuming and expensive training costs that require the characteristics of the mass and material characteristics of the products. The aim of the present study was to develop a method that uses only product typology and volumetric product properties without knowing the structural and material composition. To achieve the objective, 134 pieces of power tools were used, divided into 10 groups according to their type. The volume of the product was determined by 3D scanning with subsequent material and the LCA method based on the Oil Point Method (OPM). The end of life (EoL) of the product was evaluated in landfilling, combustion, and 90% recycling variants. Equations were obtained from Monte Carlo Simulation with 95% reliability and allowed the determination of the energy requirements for the production of power tools and CO2 emissions, including data for packaging and transport of goods. The Volumetric Evaluating Method of Ecodesign (VEME) can quickly evaluate impact in three EoL procedures and optimise the volume of power tools and the location of production of products without LCA knowledge.

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