ABSTRACT
The storage life of fresh meats can be extended by sealing products into packages that contain an atmosphere differing from air in the concentrations of N2, O2 and CO2. All fresh meats are contaminated with spoilage bacteria that largely derive, either directly or indirectly, from the hides of slaughtered animals. All fresh meats provide a rich source of nutrients to support microbial growth, and interspecific inhibitions do not occur until the numbers of bacteria are large. Non-microbial deterioration of texture during the storage of raw meats in preservative paekagings is not of significant concern for many types of product. As a preservative, packaging will only be effective while an appropriate in-pack atmosphere is maintained, and thus a packaging must necessarily be composed of a material that has limited capabilities of transmitting gases. Some wider, diversified and more effective usages of preservative packaging with fresh meats may yet develop in the relatively near future.
