Novel approach to aging beef: Vacuum-packaged foodservice steaks versus vacuum-packaged subprimals

Aging mechanism for improving the tenderness and taste characteristics of meat

Tenderness and taste characteristics of meat are the key determinants of the meat choices of consumers. This review summarizes the contemporary research on the molecular mechanisms by which postmortem aging of meat improves the tenderness and taste characteristics. The fundamental mechanism by which postmortem aging improves the tenderness of meat involves the operation of the calpain system due to apoptosis, resulting in proteolytic enzyme-induced degradation of cytoskeletal myofibrillar proteins. The improvement of taste characteristics by postmortem aging is mainly explained by the increase in the content of taste-related peptides, free amino acids, and nucleotides produced by increased hydrolysis activity. This review improves our understanding of the published research on tenderness and taste characteristics of meat and provides insights to improve these attributes of meat through postmortem aging.

Marbled beef quality grades under various ageing conditions

The Russian beef market is growing, which means that the problem of meat quality is getting more and more relevant. The gradually improving culture of meat consumption raises the demand for beef maturation, or ageing. The current research is the first of its kind in Russia. It features the quality of Russian marbled beef in the process of its open-air and vacuum-packed maturation. The authors studied the changes in the quality grades of dry-aged and vacuum-packed marbled beef during 4, 16 and 28-day ageing and defined the optimal maturation conditions and terms. The study included pH, colour, microstructure, organoleptic properties, the qualitative and quantitative composition of the volatile aroma-forming compounds, and the area of intramuscular fat. The samples were on-the-bone beef cuts obtained from 18-month-old Aberdeen-Angus castrated bulls that had received 200 days of grain fattening. The pH value remained stable throughout the ageing period in the dry-aged and vacuum-packed samples. Approaching the end of the test period, the change in pH reached 0.12 for the dry-aged samples and 0.21 for the vacuum-packed ones. The surface of the dry-aged samples obtained a dark red to burgundy-red dry crust after 16 and 28 days of ageing. The colour was significantly different from the colour of the samples after 4 days of ageing. The colour of the vacuum-packed samples remained unchanged throughout the maturation period. However, the microstructure of the packed beef showed a deeper and more widespread decomposition of muscle tissue on days 16 and 28. The changes in the dry-aged samples were less obvious. All in all, the process of extended ageing improved the organoleptic properties of the beef.

Meat packaging solutions to current industry challenges: A review

Many advances have occurred in the field of smart meat packaging, and the potential for these to be used as tools that respond to challenges faced by industry is exciting. Here, we review packaging solutions to several immediate concerns, encompassing dark cutting, purge and yield losses, product traceability and provenance, packaging durability, microbial spoilage and safety, colour stability, environmental impacts, and the preservation of eating quality. Different active and intelligent packaging approaches to each of these were identified and are discussed in terms of their usefulness - to processors, retailers and/or consumers. From this, it became apparent that prior to selecting a packaging solution, industry should first define their criteria for success (e.g. How much purge is too much? What is a reasonable shelf-life to facilitate product turnover? Is the customer willing to pay for this?), and understand that packaging is not the sole solution, but acts as part of a holistic response to these issues.

The effect of carbon monoxide pretreatment exposure time on the colour stability and quality attributes of vacuum packaged beef steaks

The effect of 5% CO pretreatments prior to vacuum packaging of beef striploin steaks (Longissimus thoracis et lumborum, LTL) on quality attributes, primarily colour stability was investigated. The aim was to determine the optimum pretreatment that would induce the desirable red colour, while allowing discoloration to occur by the end of a 28-day display period (2°C), so as to not mask spoilage. A range of pretreatment exposure times (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 15 and 24h) were applied to steaks using a gas mixture of 5% CO, 60% CO₂ and 35% N₂. The 5h CO pretreatment exposure time achieved the desirable colour and discoloration reached unacceptable levels (a*=12, C*=16) by the use-by date (28days), thus ensuring consumers' of a reliable visual indication of freshness and addressing concerns about safety. The 5% CO pretreatment had no negative effect on microbiological safety, lipid oxidation, cooking loss and WBSF measurements at the end of storage (P>0.05).