Volumetric method to determine carbon dioxide solubility and absorption rate in foods packaged in flexible or semi rigid package

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

“…As expected, packages with ground beef had greater film deflation compared to empty packages (p < 0.05). This finding is consistent with numerous studies pertaining tocarbon dioxide absorption by meat (Al-Nehlawi et al, 2013;Gill and Penney, 1988;Gill, 1988;Jakobsen and Bertelsen, 2004;Rotabakk et al, 2006Rotabakk et al, , 2007Rotabakk et al, 2010). Film deflation was greater for packages with oxygen scavenger B compared to oxygen scavenger A.…”

“…Film deflation was greater in packages with 30 versus 20% carbon dioxide (p < 0.05). This observation agrees with other reports showing a relationship between carbon dioxide absorption and film deflation (Al-Nehlawi et al, 2013;Rotabakk et al, 2006). The low solubility of nitrogen in meat is important for its function as a filler gas that maintains the package volume and prevents package collapse (Al-Nehlawi et al, 2013;Rotabakk et al, 2007).…”

“…Nevertheless, knowing the permeability of the tray and film is important to avoid overestimating the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide. As carbon dioxide concentration decreases, due to package permeability, less carbon dioxide is available for absorption (Rotabakk et al, 2007). It is important to note that the total amount of carbon dioxide lost/absorbed during storage from ground beef master packs with oxygen scavenger A or oxygen scavenger B was the same in master packs with 20% CO 2 /80% N 2 (p > 0.05).…”

“…It has been shown that carbon dioxide partial pressure is the main factor affecting carbon dioxide absorption by meat (Jakobsen and Bertelsen, 2004). Therefore, it is expected that higher initial carbon dioxide concentration would increase its absorption by meat due to a greater partial pressure difference between the headspace gas and the meat (Gill, 1988;Jakobsen and Bertelsen, 2004;Rotabakk et al, 2007). Increasing storage time in master packs with ground beef and/or oxygen scavengers, increased the amount of carbon dioxide lost/absorbed (p < 0.05; Fig.…”

“…For rigid trays used in this research, film deflation is observed as the top layer of film changes from flat to concave. Data for film deflation were collected for each master pack as described by Rotabakk et al (2006). Film deflation was measured using a straight edge and a caliper.…”