The influence of storing beef aerobically or in vacuum packs on the shelf life of mince

Abstract

Aims: To investigate the influence of aerobic or vacuum pack storage of beef trimmings on the microbiology, colour and odour of subsequently produced mince. Methods and Results: Trimmings stored aerobically for 7 or 10 days and in vacuum packs for 7, 10, 14 or 22 days at 0 or 5°C were minced, stored aerobically at 0 or 5°C for up to 7 days and examined daily to determine Total viable, Pseudomonas, Lactic acid bacteria, Brochothrix thermosphacta, and Enterobacteriaceae counts, colour and odour. Mincing reduced counts, particularly of Pseudomonas, B. thermosphacta and Enterobacteriaceae, probably because of the action free radicals released from muscle and bacterial cells. Storage of vacuum‐packed trimmings for 22 days resulted in improved mince colour and inhibition of the growth of Pseudomonas. Conclusions: The shelf life of mince from trimmings is directly influenced by the trimmings storage conditions, and longer‐term vacuum storage of trimmings produced improvements in mince quality. Significance and Impact of the Study: There appears to be no scientific rationale for limiting the storage of vacuum packaging beef trimmings to 15 days, prior to mince production, as stated in EU 835/2004. This study identifies advantages in storing trimmings in vacuum packs for at least 21 days prior to mincing, in terms of improved mince quality.

Biodiversity and dynamics of the bacterial community of packaged king scallop (Pecten maximus) meat during cold storage

“…The impact of O 2 depletion, through vacuum or modified atmosphere packaging, on Pseudomonas was not a surprise as most members of this flora are strictly aerobic. The inhibition of Pseudomonas in anaerobic packaging conditions has been reported on different food products (Crowley et al, 2010;Pantazi et al, 2008;Ravi Sankar et al, 2008). Except for day D8, the lowest counts for every studied flora as well as lowest TVBN and TMA contents were observed for the modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) with >80% CO 2 .…”