The Effect of Different Packaging Systems on the Shelf Life of Refrigerated Ground Beef

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different packaging systems on the shelf life of refrigerated ground beef. The ground beef samples were packaged as follows: AA (100% ambient air), 90O2:10CO2 (90% O2 and 10% CO2), 80O2:20CO2 (80% O2 and 20% CO2), 70O2:30CO2 (70% O2 and 30% CO2), 60O2:40CO2 (60% O2 and 40% CO2), 50O2:50CO2 (50% O2 and 50% CO2), 100O2 (100% O2), and VP (vacuum packaging). All treatments were analyzed daily for O2 and CO2 levels, pH, filtration time, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), aerobic mesophilic heterotrophic bacteria (AMHB), and aerobic psychrotrophic heterotrophic bacteria (APHB) over 20 days at 2 °C. All MAP systems had a decrease of O2 and an increase of CO2 levels during storage period (p < 0.05). Overall, the MAP systems were similarly able to decrease the pH and retard the increase of TVB-N and filtration time over the storage period (p > 0.05). Moreover, the MAP systems increased the lag phase and/or the generation time of both AMHB and APHB, extending the shelf life by 3 (90O2:10CO2), 4 (70O2:30CO2 and 100O2), and 5 days (80O2:20CO2, 60O2:40CO2, 50O2:50CO2, and VP). All MAP systems were equally effective in retarding physicochemical degradation; however, 80O2:20CO2, 60O2:40CO2, 50O2:50CO2, and VP were the most effective in impairing bacterial growth and extending the shelf life of ground beef stored under refrigeration.

A Simple Sensor System for Onsite Monitoring of O2 in Vacuum-Packed Meats during the Shelf Life

“…The microbiota developing in meat during the shelf life can cause the variation of its pH values [ 31 ]. For VP meats, decreases in pH values may be due to low O 2 levels favouring the growth of facultative anaerobic bacteria such as LAB [ 32 ]. In this study, the meat samples’ pH values of around 5.72 ± 0.18 at the start of the storage decreased to 5.14 ± 0.13 after nine weeks of storage.…”

Combined Effect of Modified Atmosphere Packaging and UV-C Radiation on Pathogens Reduction, Biogenic Amines, and Shelf Life of Refrigerated Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Fillets

“…Our results may be attributed to an antimicrobial effect of MAP and UV-C [ 9 , 10 , 21 , 37 ] considering that mechanisms of the CO 2 are further complex involving direct action in one or more bacterial mechanisms such as changes in uptake and absorption of nutrients, enzyme reactions, intracellular pH, and physicochemical properties by CO 2 penetration into bacterial membranes [ 38 ].…”

“…Nevertheless, the production of biogenic amines may vary depending on microbiota (type and initial load) and amino acid composition, including the amount available of precursor amino acids [ 50 ]. Furthermore, bacterial groups belonging to the same family may have different sensibilities to a preservation treatment, and the preservation methods may change the food components depending on food matrix composition and processing conditions such as dose or gas ratio used [ 2 , 3 , 16 , 21 , 23 , 37 ].…”

“…The decrease of pH during refrigerated storage may be attributed to a formation imbalance of alkaline and acid compounds from the action of endogenous and microbial enzymes during post-mortem degradation associated with buffering capacity, which is related to specific biochemistry characteristic of each muscle [ 15 , 63 , 64 ]. The results of pH values observed for VP, MAP, UV, and MAP/UV may be explained by the mechanism of action of CO 2 and by the growth of lactic acid bacteria, which can grow in microaerobic or anaerobic environments and are Gram-positive, being more resistant to CO 2 and UV-C radiation [ 21 , 23 , 37 , 47 , 56 ].…”

Potentially Postbiotic-Containing Preservative to Extend the Use-By Date of Raw Chicken Sausages and Semifinished Chicken Products

“…Moreover, temperature variations caused by external aspects such as climatic and geographic factors and normal fluctuation over the day may affect microbial growth and impact the food shelf-life period. While some predictive methods allow to carry out a durability study at different temperatures, few methods permit the use of a dynamic temperature profile in the same test to achieve realistic temperature conditions based on the temperatures to which the products are exposed during storage for sale in markets [41]. In the present study, the microbial growth predictor named MicroLab_shelfLife ® was designed to perform a durability study of meat products by predicting the microbial growth curve of their natural microbiota under a dynamic temperature profile.…”