CARBON MONOXIDE HEADSPACE ACTIVITY OF MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGED BEEF STEAKS

摘要

IntroductionCarbon monoxide in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) prolongs the color stability of meat by forming a reasonably stable form of myoglobin, carboxymyoglobin (Hunt et al., 2004). Currently, the approved level of use in the US is 0.4% CO in MAP (FDA, 2004). This is because foods exposed to low levels (0.4% to 1.0%) of CO are considered safe for human consumption (S?rheim et al., 2006). The use of CO at the 0.4% level in MAP improved meat color by stabilizing color without masking spoilage (Hunt et al., 2004). Carbon monoxide at 0.5% improved the color stability of fresh and enhanced pork chops (Krause et al., 2003). Luno et al. (2000) evaluated lower levels of CO in MAP and concluded that meat packaged under CO at 0.1% and 0.25% has similar color stability to meat packaged under high-oxygen; however, meat packaged under CO at 0.5% and higher has greater color stability properties than meat packaged in high-oxygen atmospheres. The use of a gas in meat packaging as a percentage of the atmosphere does not account for differences in headspace and the partial pressure of CO. Consequently, molecular availability of CO is not controlled. Our objective was to evaluate color development of MAP beef steaks packaged in the presence of prescribed CO molarities.