Surface Color Variations of Ground Beef Packaged Using Enhanced, Recycle Ready, or Standard Barrier Vacuum Films.

Tristan M Reyes,Soren P Rodning,Barney S Wilborn,Hunter R Smith,Madison P Wagoner,Jason T Sawyer,Terry D Brandebourg,Tom Bonner

doi:10.3390/foods11020162

Abstract

With current meat industry efforts focused on improving environmental influencers, adopting sustainable packaging materials may be an easier transition to addressing the sustainability demands of the meat consumer. With the growing popularity of vacuum-packaged meat products, the current study evaluated instrumental surface color on fresh ground beef using vacuum packaging films, recycle-ready film (RRF), standard barrier (STB) and enhanced barrier (ENB). Ground beef packaged using ENB barrier film was lighter (L*), redder (a*) and more vivid (chroma) than all other packaging treatments during the simulated display period (p < 0.05). By day 12 of the simulated retail display, the ground beef surface color became lighter (L*), more yellow (b*), less red (a*), less vivid (chroma) and contained greater forms of calculated metmyoglobin, oxymyoglobin (p < 0.05). The current results suggest that barrier properties of vacuum packaging film for ground beef are pivotal for extending the surface color during fresh shelf-life conditions.

Highlights

When consumers purchase fresh meat, a primary attribute influencing the consumer’s purchasing decision is meat color [1]
When half of the consumers are informed on vacuum-packaged beef and its purple-red color, consumers are more likely to purchase vacuum-packaged beef over non-barrier polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
Fresh meat under lighted display in a limited oxygen package has been reported to impact the formation of oxymyoglobin formation [24]

Summary

Introduction

When consumers purchase fresh meat, a primary attribute influencing the consumer’s purchasing decision is meat color [1]. With the presence of oxygen, the chemical state of myoglobin can appear as a bright, cherry-red color, often correlated to freshness by the retail consumer [2] at the time of selection and purchase. Vacuum packaging is often not the preferred packaging platform of choice within the retail consumer market setting by meat industry retailers due to surface color variations that are presented under vacuum. It is widely known that beef packaged in a vacuum platform displays a purple-red color identified as deoxy-myoglobin. Fresh beef appears as a bright, cherry-red (oxy-myoglobin) color due to surface exposure to oxygen. The reduction in partial pressure within a vacuum package of fresh meat can result in a shift in color form of myoglobin from a bright red oxygenated color to a purplish red deoxygenated appearance. When half of the consumers are informed on vacuum-packaged beef and its purple-red color, consumers are more likely to purchase vacuum-packaged beef over non-barrier polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

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