ABSTRACT
The shelf life and safety of cooked red meats and poultry is determined not only by environmental storage conditions but also the numbers and type of contaminating microorganisms. Modified Atmosphere Packagings (MAP) has been used to a lesser extent to extend the shelf life of other cooked meats such as beef or pork. MAP has been widely used to extend the shelf life of processed poultry products such as breaded and fully cooked chicken, fully cooked whole chickens, and cured poultry products. It has been commercially applied to poultry products either as a method to increase shelf life only during wholesale distribution and storage, or as a method to increase shelf life in wholesale distribution and retail display. The most common technology is to pre-pack carcasses or parts in low-barrier consumer packages which are placed into large groups inside polyolefin bags. Particularly of interest is the effect of spoilage organisms on the growth and/or survival of psychrotrophic human pathogens.
