HE INFLUENCE OF PACKAGING SYSTEMS ON BEEF STORAGE

Abstract

It is well known that fresh food products have a limited shelf life due to active enzymatic processes, among which microbial metabolites formed during their vital activity play a leading role. This leads to a loss of commercial appearance and organoleptic characteristics, which significantly reduces their consumer properties, attractiveness, and taste qualities. As a result, the shelf life of such products is often limited to just a few hours, depending on their category. To preserve the quality and safety of raw materials and finished products, various preservation and packaging methods are widely applied, allowing for an extension of their shelf life. Currently, many different meat packaging systems are used, each with unique characteristics and purposes. These systems cover a wide range of solutions, from simple packaging for short-term storage of chilled meat to specialized modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) systems. In addition, vacuum packaging and gas-flushing systems, or MAP systems with 100% carbon dioxide, are widely employed for maximum duration of chilled storage. This study investigated the effect of packaging systems on the preservation of the physicochemical and microbiological properties of chilled beef during storage. The main focus was on active packaging using oxygen absorbers with a specified amount of active component, as well as modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). Beef samples were vacuum-packed in accordance with the requirements of DSTU 6030:2008 and stored for 14 days at 4 °C. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of the presence of oxygen absorbers in packaged units on changes in moisture, pH, water-holding capacity (WHC), and the number of mesophilic aerobic and facultative-anaerobic microorganisms (MAFAnM) in the experimental beef samples. The analysis of the obtained results shows that the greatest changes during storage occurred in the control samples without packaging. In particular, moisture loss reached 3.31%, and the pH decreased by 0.75 units. The most effective packaging for beef storage was found to be with a 6 g oxygen absorber. In such samples, moisture loss did not exceed 1.15%, and the pH remained the most stable (5.65 on the 14th day of storage). A similar trend was observed in WHC indicators and microbiological studies: the content of MAFAnM in samples with a 6 g oxygen absorber increased more slowly, reaching 6.30 ± 1.10•105 CFU/cm³ on the 14th day, compared to 3.16 ± 0.76•107 CFU/cm³ in the control sample.