Chapter 17 - Antimicrobial Packaging for Meat Products

Abstract

Microbial contamination and growth on perishable meats result in deterioration and/or foodborne illness outbreaks. Antimicrobial packaging to inhibit spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms of concern in the meat can be very helpful to preserve freshness, extend shelf life, and ensure food safety. The effectiveness of antimicrobial packaging can be measured by monitoring the relevant microbial count or quality indexes indirectly related with the microbial growth. Most antimicrobial packaging applications are based upon migration of the active antimicrobial agent from the package matrix into the food. Thus its migration kinetics is a controlling factor for the effective microbial inhibition. Targeting the specific spoilage or pathogenic organisms by the active agent in a manner tailored with its migration kinetics is the way to optimize antimicrobial packaging. Even though a variety of antimicrobial packaging forms in synthetic plastics or biobased polymers have been reported to effectively inhibit or suppress the microbial growth extending meat shelf life and ensuring food safety, there are only very limited cases of commercialized antimicrobial packages. The combined use of other active and modified atmosphere packaging techniques with antimicrobial packaging may provide a better chance to preserve meat products.