14A-32

G. TEWARI¹, D. S. Jayas¹, L. E. Jeremiah², and R. A. Holley³. (1) Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V6, Canada, (2) Meat Research, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe, AB T4L 1W1, Canada, (3) Food Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada

Centralized meat operations are becoming more attractive to the meat industry because of their economics. However, because of residual O₂ in the master packs and poor temperature control during distribution and storage, such operations have had limited success. A centralized meat distribution system was developed for the study using (i) master packaging technology which combined controlled atmospheres with O₂ absorbent technology for packing fresh meat, and (ii) a liquid-N₂ refrigerated container for meat distribution and storage.

The present work determined the display life of retail-ready master-packaged steaks using the centralized meat distribution system.

Beef tenderloins (psoas major, PM), cut into steaks were master-packaged under a 100% N₂, and stored at -1.5 ±0.5°C in a liquid-N₂ refrigerated container for 10 weeks. At weekly intervals, two master packs were removed from storage, and steaks were analyzed for visual, odor, flavor, and microbiological characteristics. Reflectance spectra were used to estimate metmyoglobin content. The steaks were displayed for four days in a retail cabinet and analyzed daily for visual characteristics and at days 0 and 4 for visual, odor, flavor, and microbial content.

Steaks had acceptable visual, odor, and flavor characteristics on day 0 of retail display for any storage interval. Metmyoglobin content (<10%) and microbial numbers (<10¹ cfu/cm²) were similar to un-stored fresh controls. The steaks were acceptable until day 3 of retail display. The retail display period significantly (p<0.05) affected the visual, odor, flavor, and microbial characteristics. Retail appearance was the limiting factor for the retail display life of the steaks.

The developed system can deliver a storage life of at least 10 weeks with a subsequent retail display life of 3 days for master-packaged PM steaks. Such storage life is 3 times longer when compared with the present commercial systems.