Oddvin Sørheim

The storage life of beef and pork packaged in an atmosphere with low carbon monoxide and high carbon dioxide

Ground beef, beef loin steaks and pork chops were packaged in modified atmospheres of 0.4% CO/60% CO(2)/40% N(2) and 70% O(2)/30% CO(2). In addition ground beef was packaged in clipped chub packs, beef loin steaks were vacuum packaged, and pork chops were packaged in an atmosphere of 60% CO(2)/40% N(2) with each pack containing an O(2) absorber. The packs were stored in the dark at 4 or 8°C for up to 21 days. Meat in 0.4% CO/60% CO(2)/40% N(2) had a stable bright red colour that lasted beyond the time of spoilage. The storage lives in this gas mixture at 4°C, as limited by off-odours, were 11, 14 and 21 days for ground beef, beef loin steaks and pork chops, respectively. The 70% O(2)/30% CO(2) atmosphere resulted in an initially bright red to red colour of the meat, but the colour was unstable and off-odours developed rapidly. The off-odours probably were caused by Brochothrix thermosphacta, which grew in all meat types, or by pseudomonads in ground beef. Meat stored in chub packs, vacuum packs or 60% CO(2)/40% N(2) with an O(2) absorber developed off-odours and microflora similar to those of meat in 0.4% CO/60% CO(2)/40% N(2), but with less acceptable appearances. These results show that a low CO/high CO(2) atmosphere is effective for preserving retail-ready meat. ©

Color and thiobarbituric acid values of cooked top sirloin steaks packaged in modified atmospheres of 80% oxygen, or 0.4% carbon monoxide, or vacuum

Case-ready fresh beef is typically packaged in a modified-atmosphere with approximately 80% oxygen and 20% carbon dioxide. Recently, USDA approved distribution of fresh meats in a master bag system using 0.4% carbon monoxide (CO). This study compared effects of packaging system (vacuum, 80% oxygen, 0.4% carbon monoxide), fresh meat storage time (7-21 days) and cooking temperature (49-79 °C) on extent of myoglobin denaturation, color and rancidity in cooked top sirloin steaks. Steaks packaged in 80% oxygen or CO retained desirable red color for 14 and 21 days storage, respectively. Steaks stored in 80% oxygen exhibited the greatest TBA values and myoglobin denaturation at all storage times and cooking temperatures. Steaks stored in high oxygen developed brown interior color at internal temperatures as low as 57 °C, the premature browning effect. Premature browning and rancidity associated with steaks packaged in 80% oxygen was prevented by packaging in 0.4% CO or vacuum.

Technological, hygienic and toxicological aspects of carbon monoxide used in modified-atmosphere packaging of meat

Retail meat can be packaged in gas mixtures containing 60–70% carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), 30–40% nitrogen (N 2 ) and 2 ), that is, approximately 70% O 2 and 30% CO 2 . The consumption of meat that has been packaged in a CO mixture will result in only negligible levels of carboxyhaemoglobin in the blood. It is highly improbable that the use of CO in the packaging of meat will present a toxic threat to consumers.

Muscle stretching techniques for improving meat tenderness

Abstract Methods for stretching or restraining pre-rigor single muscles or muscles in a carcass have been given increasing attention due to their ability to reliably improve tenderness and reduce the variation in tenderness of meat. The Tenderstretch method with aitch bone suspension of carcass sides has lately been successfully implemented in the beef industry in several countries. Tendercut, which implies cutting bones and connective tissue in the mid-loin and round/sirloin junction of carcass sides, is a promising method for increasing tension and tenderness of the muscles. For individual hot-boned muscles, the Pi-Vac packaging system with elastic film tubes is an efficient method for reducing contraction of these muscles. Combining stretching or restraining methods with other tenderising techniques like slow chilling or electrical stimulation usually yield little additional benefits in tenderness.

Influence of beef carcass stretching and chilling rate on tenderness of m. longissimus dorsi.

Sides of 31 non-stimulated carcasses of young bulls were subjected to the muscle stretching methods Tenderstretch (TS) by pelvic bone suspension or Tendercut (TC) with two skeletal cuts or served as controls by traditional Achilles tendon suspension. The sides were chilled at fast and medium rates, resulting in temperatures of 4-5 and 9°C in the m. longissimus dorsi (LD) at 10 h post mortem. The LDs were examined for sarcomere length, Warner-Bratzler peak shear force and sensory properties after 8 days of ageing at 4°C. At the fast chilling rate, TS and TC increased sarcomere lengths, reduced shear force and improved sensory tenderness of the LDs compared to the controls (P<0.05). At the medium chilling rate, sarcomere lengths increased (P<0.05), but no significant differences were found in shear force or sensory tenderness (P>0.05) of the muscles due to stretching. However, the medium chilling rate was efficient in producing tender LDs without applying muscle stretching methods. TS and TC are feasible alternatives for improving overall tenderness and reducing variation in tenderness of beef LD at cold shortening chilling conditions.

Noncontact salt and fat distributional analysis in salted and smoked salmon fillets using X-ray computed tomography and NIR interactance imaging.

To be able to monitor the salting process of cold smoked salmon, a nondestructive imaging technique for salt analysis is required. This experiment showed that X-ray computed tomography (CT) can be used for nondestructive distributional analysis of NaCl in salmon fillets during salting, salt equilibration, and smoking. The combination of three X-ray voltages (80, 110, and 130 kV) gave the best CT calibrations for NaCl, with a prediction error (root mean square error of cross-validation, RMSECV) of 0.40% NaCl and a correlation (R) of 0.92 between predicted values and reference values. Adding fat predictions based on NIR interactance imaging further improved the NaCl prediction performance, giving RMSECV = 0.34% NaCl and R = 0.95. It was also found that NIR interactance imaging alone was able to predict NaCl contents locally in salted salmon fillets with RMSECV = 0.56% and R = 0.86.

Effects of carbon dioxide on yield, texture and microstructure of cooked ground beef.

The objective of the study was to find the effects of CO(2) gas on cooking loss, instrumental hardness and microstructural changes of ground beef heated to 70-83 °C. In two experiments, ground beef was stored for 4 days in 60% CO(2)/39.6% N(2)/0.4% CO and vacuum (1), or in 100% CO(2), 50% CO(2)/50% N(2), 20% CO(2)/80% N(2), 100% N(2) and vacuum (2). In an additional experiment, slices of beef semimembransosus muscles were stored for 10 days in 100% CO(2), 100% N(2) and vacuum. Cooking loss of ground beef patties was higher of all CO(2) treatments than non-CO(2) treatments (p<0.05). Storage of raw ground beef in CO(2) caused a concentration dependent decrease in raw meat pH of up to 0.12 units in 100% CO(2). In the beef slices, small CO(2) related fissures and pores were formed in the cooked meat. These changes in pH and microstructure probably contributed to the elevated cooking loss. The hardness of cooked ground beef was not affected by CO(2) exposure (p>0.05). Because CO(2) in concentrations of 20-100% is commonly used in industrial packaging processes for retail meat and meat trimmings, a reduction in cooking yield of 1-3% may have sensory and economic implications.

Preserving pre-rigor meat functionality for beef patty production

Three methods were examined for preserving pre-rigor meat functionality in beef patties. Hot-boned semimembranosus muscles were processed as follows: (1) pre-rigor ground, salted, patties immediately cooked; (2) pre-rigor ground, salted and stored overnight; (3) pre-rigor injected with brine; and (4) post-rigor ground and salted. Raw patties contained 60% lean beef, 19.7% beef fat trim, 1.7% NaCl, 3.6% starch, and 15% water. Pre-rigor processing occurred at 3-3.5h postmortem. Patties made from pre-rigor ground meat had higher pH values; greater protein solubility; firmer, more cohesive, and chewier texture; and substantially lower cooking losses than the other treatments. Addition of salt was sufficient to reduce the rate and extent of glycolysis. Brine injection of intact pre-rigor muscles resulted in some preservation of the functional properties but not as pronounced as with salt addition to pre-rigor ground meat.

Monitoring Secondary Structural Changes in Salted and Smoked Salmon Muscle Myofiber Proteins by FT-IR Microspectroscopy

Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy and light microscopy were used to study changes in the myofibrillar proteins and microstructure in salmon muscle due to dry salting and smoking. Light microscopy showed that the myofibers of the smoked samples were more shrunken and their shape more irregular and edged than for the nonsmoked samples. FT-IR microspectroscopy showed that salting time mostly contributed in the amide I region, revealing that secondary structural changes of proteins were primarily affected by salting. The main variation in the amide II region was caused by smoking. As it is known that smoke components can react with amino acid side chains and that the contribution of the side chain in the amide II region is larger than that in amide I, it is concluded that the observed differences are due to interactions between carbonyl compounds of smoke and amino acid side chains.

Effects of modified atmosphere storage on colour and microbiological shelf life of normal and pale, soft and exudative pork.

Pale, soft and exudative (PSE) and normal pork loins (n = 9 of each) were deboned, divided and packaged in modified atmospheres (MA) of 100% carbon dioxide containing 0, 0.5 and 1.0% residual oxygen (O(2)). The meat was stored at 3 °C, first in MA for 21 days, followed by 5 additional days under retail display conditions with access to air. Before packaging, PSE loins were more light and less red than those of normal meat. The drip loss after MA storage was twice as high from PSE meat as from normal meat. PSE meat was not more discoloured after MA storage than normal meat. The level of residual O(2) in the MA had a significant impact on the colour of the two types of meat. Discoloration was observed on both PSE and normal meat with 0.5% O(2) and even more clearly with 1.0% O(2), as demonstrated by instrumental and visual colour analyses. After MA storage, the microbiological shelf life and flora were not affected by the type of meat, or level of residual O(2).