How to keep natural color of fresh meat – meat processing storage and package

How to keep natural color of fresh meat – meat processing storage and package

This article introduces main factors that effects the color change of fresh meat, and main methods in meat processing to keep fresh meat in it’s original color, including meat storage and packaging methods.

The color of the meat is generally red in different shades, which mainly depends on the pigment substance in the muscle-myoglobin and the pigment substance in the residual blood-hemoglobin. If bleeding is sufficient, myoglobin accounts for 80% to 90% of the pigment in the meat. The color of meat is determined by the content and changes of myoglobin (Mb) and hemoglobin (Hb) in the meat. Myoglobin is the meat’s own pigment protein, which determines the inherent color of the meat; hemoglobin exists in the blood It is greatly affected by the pre-mortem state and post-mortem bloodletting, which has an impact on the color of the meat.

The color of the meat also depends on the degree of pigment protein and oxygen binding and the degree of iron oxidation when the meat is stored in air. When the state of iron is not changed and it is still divalent iron, its color changes depending on the presence of oxygen. When reduced myoglobin and oxygen combine to form oxygenated myoglobin, the meat is bright red. When the meat is stored for a long time, myoglobin and oxygen undergo a strong oxidation to generate oxidized myoglobin, the divalent iron becomes trivalent, and the meat is brown.

However, the degree of permeation of oxygen in the air to the surface of the meat is shallow, only about 2 cm below the surface of the meat. Therefore, oxidized myoglobin is not produced in the deep part of the large meat, and the center of the cut surface of the meat is still bright red. The rate of oxidative discoloration of meat is affected by oxygen content, humidity, temperature, air flow rate, etc. The lower the temperature and the greater the humidity, the longer the bright red color remains. According to the test, burdock carcass can be placed under 7 ℃, which can promote the formation of bright red under good management.

At the same temperature, the air flows quickly, which promotes the drying of the meat surface and accelerates the oxidative browning of the meat.

How to keep natural color of fresh meat in meat processing

In meat processing industry, by reducing the storage temperature, the change in fresh meat color can be delayed. In addition, you can also maintain the fresh meat color by vacuum packaging, modified atmosphere packaging, and adding antioxidants.

1) Vacuum packaging

In addition to freezing and refrigerating, vacuum packaging is currently the most commonly used measure for meat preservation. Vacuum packaging on the one hand can reduce bacterial reproduction and prolong the shelf life of fresh; on the other hand, it limits or reduces the formation of methemoglobin, keeping the meat’s myoglobin in a reduced state, showing a purple-red color, which can look like Fresh meat forms oxygenated myoglobin on the surface, which is bright red.

When choosing meat vacuum packing machines, meat processors always need to consider machine quality and output capacity. Jinan Cunfan  Machinery Co., Ltd. supplies top quality meat packaging machines with various output capacity, which fit wide range of production scale. You can choose double chamber vacuum packing machines for smaller business, or thermoforming packaging machines for massive production requirement.

2) Modified atmosphere packaging

Modified atmosphere packaging is to regulate the gas composition in the packaging bag or trays to inhibit the growth of aerobic microorganisms, thereby extending the storage time of meat. Modified atmosphere packaging also controls the oxygenation and oxidation of myoglobin, thereby regulating the color of meat. Without oxygen, the muscle myoglobin exists in a reduced state, showing a purple (red) color. Low oxygen (1%) is conducive to the formation of brown ferritin, while high oxygen is conducive to bright red oxygenated myoglobin. Protein formation. The gas composition of modified atmosphere packaging is various. The most commonly used are pure CO 2, CO 2 and O 2, and CO 2 and N 2 gas combination methods. When the CO2 reaches 25%, it can inhibit the growth of most bacteria, and the effect is best at 40% ~ 60%, but pure CO 2 packaging is not good for meat color, so most modified atmosphere packaging uses mixed gas, and CO2 Inhibits bacteria and maintains fresh meat color with O2.modified atmosphere packaging machine

3) Antioxidants

(1) Vitamin E. Vitamin E is an antioxidant. Tests show that adding vitamin E to feed can effectively extend the retention time of meat color. This is mainly because vitamin E can reduce the oxidation rate of oxygenated myoglobin and promote the transfer of ferritin to oxygen. Myoglobin transformation.

(2) Vitamin C. It not only has anti-oxidation, but also has bacteriostatic effect, and can prolong the color retention period. Vitamin C injections have the same effect before animal slaughter.