The Effects of Residual Oxygen on the Storage Life of Retail‐Ready Fresh Beef Steaks Masterpackaged Under a CO₂ Atmosphere

Abstract

Retail-packed rump (Gluteus medius, GM) and striploins (Longissiumus dorsi, LD) steaks were masterpackaged under carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and stored at 1 • C ± 1 • C for 14, 28, 35, and 42 d. A commercial oxygen (O 2 ) scavenger (ATCO HV1000 , Standa Industrie, Caen, France) was used in the masterpacks to achieve an O 2 -free atmosphere. Similar packages without the O 2 scavengers were also prepared. At each storage time, 2 masterpacks of each treatment were opened and the retail trays were placed in a display case at 4 • C ± 2 • C for 1 and 48 h for microbiological and sensorial evaluations. The low growth rate of aerobic psychrotrophic flora on the stored beefsteaks demonstrated the bacteriostatic effect of CO 2 during storage. The maximum level of psychrotrophic aerobic bacteria reached during storage was approximately 10 6 CFU/g. The steaks stored in masterpacks with scavengers bloomed to the desirable red color associated with freshly cut meat in the display case for all of the storage periods, except in the case of GM steaks, which showed a cycle of transient discoloration. GM and LD steaks were well accepted (65% and 82%, respectively) after 42 d under CO 2 at 1 • C ± 1 • C. The GM and LD steaks stored without the O 2 scavenger showed variable fractions of discoloration that significantly detracted from the appearance of the samples.

Oxygen Scavengers affect Gas Mixture and Color Stability of Master Packed Ground Beef

“…The use of oxygen scavengers, A and B effectively reduced oxygen concentration during master pack storage (p < 0.05). Similar results by Venturini et al (2006) and Limbo et al (2013) showed that oxygen scavengers rapidly reduced oxygen concentration in master packs during storage and that these concentrations were lower when compared to packages without oxygen scavengers. There were significant interactions of oxygen scavenger with ground beef (p < 0.0001) and oxygen scavenger with storage time for headspace oxygen concentrations (p < 0.0001).…”

“…The presence of ground beef also increased the average oxygen concentration compared to packages without meat (p < 0.05). This increase in oxygen concentration in master packs may be related to entrapped oxygen in the meat, in the overwrap tray headspace or in the tray matrix in cases where polystyrene foam trays are used (Limbo et al, 2013;Tewari et al, 2002;Venturini et al, 2006Venturini et al, , 2014. The use of oxygen scavengers, A and B effectively reduced oxygen concentration during master pack storage (p < 0.05).…”

“…In that study, metmyoglobin concentration was significantly higher in packages without oxygen scavengers after 7 d of storage. Venturini et al (2006) also found that the use of oxygen scavengers in master packed beef steaks resulted in decreased pigment oxidation. In their study, a desirable ratio of oxymyoglobin to metmyoglobin was maintained in master packs with oxygen scavenger for up to 42 d of storage.…”

“…Previous studies involving oxygen scavengers did not compare different brands (Beggan et al, 2006;Buys, 2004;Gill and McGinnis, 1995b;Isdell et al, 1999;Limbo et al, 2013;Venturini et al, 2006;Venturini et al, 2014). In a few studies, multiple oxygen scavengers were compared, but the focus was on oxygen kinetics (Charles et al, 2006;Miltz and Perry, 2005;Tewari et al, 2002).…”

“…An anoxic atmosphere is typically used in the outer package to avoid oxidation reactions and color fading (Jayasingh et al, 2002;Kim et al, 2010), as well as to control the growth of aerobic, spoilage bacteria (Sørheim et al, 1999). Caution must be taken since residual oxygen that is present in the headspace gas can trigger meat discoloration (Gill and McGinnis, 1995a;Sørheim et al, 2009;Venturini et al, 2006). For this reason, oxygen scavengers in the retail package play a key role in controlling oxygen concentrations (Gill and McGinnis, 1995b;Jeyamkondan et al, 2000;Limbo et al, 2013;Tewari,et al, 2002).…”