Determination of Critical Oxygen Level in Packages for Cooked Sliced Ham to Prevent Color Fading During Illuminated Retail Display

Abstract

The effect of packages with different oxygen transmission rates (OTR), different gas‐to‐product‐volume (GP) ratios, and various levels of residual oxygen after packaging on the color stability of cooked ham exposed to commercial retail light conditions was studied. Sliced cooked ham was packaged in thermoformed packages with OTR of 0.04 and 0.06 mL O2/pkg × 24 h and GP ratios of 2.6 and 4.1. After packaging, the packages were additionally divided into groups with 4 levels of residual oxygen ranging from 0.09% to 0.46%. The packaged ham was stored in darkness at 4 °C up to 33 d, and during the storage period samples were withdrawn and exposed to light for 2 d before instrumental and visual color evaluation. In order to maintain an acceptable color of this particular ham product when exposed to typical retail light conditions, the highest acceptable level of oxygen in the headspace of the packages was 0.15% oxygen at the time of illumination. This threshold level was independent of the storage time before light exposure. A residual oxygen level of below 0.15% just after packaging combined with the package with the lowest OTR (0.04 mL O2/pkg × 24 h) and the lowest GP ratio (2.6) was the optimal condition for maintaining the color of the tested ham product throughout the entire storage period.

Active Packaging Applications for Food

“…Oxygen in packaging negatively affects the quality and shelf‐life of several foods as it leads to oxidation of the product (Choe and Min ) or promotes the growth of aerobic microorganisms (Lee ; Solovyov ) resulting in color modifications (Møller and others ; Nannerup and others ; Larsen and others ; Gibis and Rieblinger ; Hutter and others ), or sensory changes (Jacobsen ; Granda‐Restrepo and others ; Li and others ), or nutritional losses (Chung and others ; Lopez‐Gomez and Ros‐Chumillas ; Van Bree and others ). A reduction in the residual oxygen level of a food packaging can be achieved through the application of OS, in some cases down to <0.01 vol.%.…”

“…Many of the oxygen‐scavenging systems that have been developed are still too slow for several food applications, such as boiled meat products, especially if they are packaged in slices. For such oxidation‐sensitive products, removal of oxygen by conventional means is not generally achievable since light‐induced discoloration in meat occurs within hours, even at very low oxygen levels (0.5 until 0.1 vol.%), depending on the product/headspace ratio (Andersen and Rasmussen ; Møller and others ; Nannerup and others ; Larsen and others ; Gibis and Rieblinger ; Böhner and others ; Hutter and others ); and most OS systems require several days to remove initial headspace oxygen (Matche and others ). Recently, a rapid OS system based on a catalytic system with palladium (CSP) has been developed.…”

Effect of packaging oxygen transmission rate on the shelf life of ready‐to‐heat foods susceptible to postcontamination during refrigerated and illuminated storage

“…The effects of illumination conditions identified in this manuscript were likely due to heat transfer from the lamps and heat sinks, as well as to overall temperature differences. Twelve hours of illumination per day throughout the whole storage period was a severe overestimation of the illumination to be expected in an actual retail environment, as Larsen found that realistically, an average cumulative illumination time of 24 hours should be expected for retailed processed meat. Despite illumination times likely differing for different food products depending on the type of grocery store and rollover, this should make a better assumption for further tests.…”

“…This technique allows for shelf life extension with a reduction in the need for preservatives. The main goal of this technique is to exclude atmospheric O 2 , which is crucial to the growth of aerobic spoilage organisms, many pathogens, and oxidation phenomena . This is achieved by introducing N 2 as a filler gas.…”

Sustainable packaging design: a holistic methodology for packaging design

“…• microbiological analysis, normally carried out on well controlled test samples that are stored in a laboratory to have the same external conditions as are assumed to be in the distribution chain (Pettersen et al, 16 Larsen et al, 11 Hansen et al • Physical and chemical analysis of the product, e.g. pH, texture analysis, liquid and colour measurements among others (Larsen et al, 11 Hansen et al…”