The Contribution and Situation of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Meat

In 1950, Aaron Brody collaborated with Dick Perdue to develop modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging - an innovative technology that successfully helped the meat industry avoid millions of dollars in waste and losses, and provided cost advantages unmatched by other technologies. Consumers provide fresh, nutritious meat.

However, Aaron Brody said that this was due to the concerns of operators in the supermarket's fresh food department about losing their existing operating positions, the fear of losing consumers in traditional stores, and because consumers had unreasonable preconceptions about the standard of fresh red meat. , At present in the meat industry, the cost loss due to waste is still high.

The birth of modified atmosphere preservation technology

Aaron brody developed the modified atmosphere packaging technology (referred to as MAP) when he worked at Whirlpool Corporation in the United States in 1950. He said: "Our original intention was to improve the quality of freezing equipment in the United States. Before this, we have never applied this technology to domestically produced freezing equipment, but used the technology in the production and distribution of fresh meat and meat products. ."

Just after Aaron brody developed the technology for fresh meat production, Dick Perdue developed the Cryovac system for fresh meat packaging in the late 1960s. The convergence of these two innovative technologies has quickly contributed to the meat industry achieving considerable cost and waste reduction goals, enabling the meat industry to efficiently and cost-effectively deliver fresh and nutritious products to the world's rapidly growing population.

Aaron Brody said: "When it comes to fresh meat, if you consider the starting point of the industry, we have actually extended the shelf life of meat products five to ten times. In the case of meat products, we have extended the shelf life of meat products by five to ten times. Its shelf life has been doubled; the current shelf life of whole-cut beef products has been extended by two to three times.”

“The packaging industry has taken solid steps to change the distribution system for fresh red meat products. This distribution system change starts with moving livestock into paddocks in urban centers, and then in downtown Colorado, Iowa, USA. The processing plant is very close to the livestock farm. I know there are many people in the industry who think this method is bad, but it is actually very effective, and we no longer have to transport the animals after slaughter. Subsequent waste products have effectively improved our conveying efficiency." Aaron Brody continued.

This innovative approach completely revolutionized the entire meat industry, significantly reducing the amount of meat waste, reducing costs by millions of dollars, and reducing waste after the production process by millions of pounds.

natural balance

Aaron Brody has taught at Georgia State University for 19 years. During these years, he has been working on improving modified atmosphere packaging technology. "Recently, we have developed a system that has reduced residual oxygen levels in meat packaging to millions of units, and possibly even further down to a billion units. If residual oxygen levels are reliably controlled to ten With 100 million units, we can further extend the shelf life of meat and support a longer shelf life in frozen storage.”

Refrigeration equipment is very important for the modified atmosphere packaging of meat products. Aaron Brody admits: “Modified atmosphere packaging is an enabling tool for freezers. Without modified atmosphere packaging, the freezer would not function. In modified atmosphere packaging and the Cryovac system, the Careful control of the gas inside the package, combined with the selection of appropriate freezing equipment, can create a balanced microbial environment and keep the meat inside fresh for a long time.”

Aaron Brody goes on to explain: "Meat products are not sterile, so we need a microbially balanced environment and make the most of it to ensure freshness. We need packaging systems like this to help the product breathe, remove Oxygen, and create a carbon dioxide environment. At the same time, we need to maintain a fixed concentration of gas components, balance the content of oxygen and carbon dioxide gas, and then help the meat to extend shelf life. The microbial environment will change slowly at a very low rate, Until a balance is reached. We designed the packaging structure and materials, and the new packaging has a unique ratio of oxygen and carbon dioxide gas, which is especially suitable for the packaging of fresh food such as lettuce or strawberries.”

In the case of the Cryovac system, since the Cryovac packaging uses a completely oxygen-blocking packaging material, the microbial environment inside the packaging completely depletes the oxygen content (which is also the reason for the discoloration of the product inside), and carbon dioxide is released. gas. Aaron Brody said: "In fact, we do not want this to happen, because in such situations pathogenic microorganisms can easily penetrate. Instead, we are very careful to keep the oxygen content so that it is not completely reduced to Zero. In a completely zero oxygen environment, some anaerobic microorganisms (such as Clostridium) can also exist. We need to create a microbial environment that can fight pathogens, which is a natural balance we want to create, and also The goal of the Cryovac system.”

temperature control

“The problem to worry about is temperature. Without temperature control, everything is empty talk. When packaging meat, in distribution, we need to pay special attention to the temperature of the product. Similarly, in retail settings such as supermarkets, meat The temperature and control of the product is also very important.” Packing of the meat is done in a 35°F–38°F freezer environment, 31°F in a logistics distribution environment, and easy temperature control in a retail environment out of control.

Monitoring and Control

By adopting refrigeration equipment, enhancing the ability of modified atmosphere preservation inside the package, ensuring that the microbial environment inside the package is correct and changing at a low rate, these methods all require us to ensure that the temperature control of the product is always within our control. This premise is especially required for efficient and intelligent packaging systems.

In an intelligent packaging system, environmental changes are prone to occur in the distribution link, which requires operators to pay proper attention to this. Aaron Brody said: "The intelligent packaging system can sense changes in the external environment and make appropriate adjustments according to the changes. For example, when the temperature of the external environment where the product is located is too high, the inside of the packaging can make appropriate adjustments. Cool the inside of it. If the oxygen content in the outside environment is too high, the inside of the package adjusts to reduce the oxygen content autonomously.”

Active and effective packaging can further exert such functions, allowing product packaging to respond quickly to changes in the external environment. Aaron Brody said: "In smart and active packaging, packaging materials often contain some unique physical or chemical substances, such substances can capture and measure the changes that occur inside the product packaging, and then change the packaging material, raise or lower the content of the packaging. Oxygen content, to achieve a unique internal packaging environment, while maintaining the continuous development and changes of the microbial environment within the packaging.”

"The packaging materials we currently use can properly adjust the carbon dioxide and oxygen transmission rates of the material itself according to changes in the external environment. This is also a relatively common packaging material used in current production." Accurate control of the gas inside the package , the freshness of the product can be extended very well. Aaron Brody cites Larry Bell's food product, Bluwrap Fresh Fillets as an example: "The Bluwrap brand's main business is fresh fillets shipped from Chile to the United States, and the product has a shelf life of 45 days. Larry Bell Company The new investment is still mainly in the fresh fish fillet product segment, but also in the fresh meat segment, where the company has very strict controls on product temperature and oxygen content.”

misreading of the market

Since it provides a broad space for the improvement of efficiency, why has the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging not been applied on a large scale and a large scale?

Aaron Brody's point of view is that the fundamental problem is still from consumer misreading. Aaron Brody said this type of unreasonable perception is caused by consumers who believe that the products of the meat industry are unsustainable, and at the same time, there are many unfavorable long-term development of the livestock slaughtering, processing and distribution industry. Requirement: "Consumers generally believe that you are wasting the earth's resources by not consuming too much meat." The problem may be that many consumers mistakenly believe that they are living in the countryside Population counts and complex modern urban economies turn a blind eye.

Aaron Brody said: "Most consumers hold this view - in the supermarket retail store, the meat we want to buy must be freshly cut. In fact, in the face of such a view, it is relatively extreme. We strongly hope that consumers can see the production link and chain of meat processing with their own eyes, so that they can have a deeper recognition of the value of this industry chain. Only in this way can consumers have a more Intuitive understanding, such as what helps the product ensure freshness, what contributes to the nutritional value of the product, what is sustainable development, what kind of development is more friendly to the earth? If the concept of organic is implanted into the product , then we must also know what kind of consumer group will have the willingness to purchase.”

When meat reaches retail, the temperature control system, which is regarded as one of the pillars of meat modified atmosphere packaging, usually collapses, and at the same time Aaron Brody believes: "Retail stores are generally reluctant to accept prepackaged fresh meat products. .” In the field of meat segmentation, an obvious change is that consumers are more and more inclined to buy fresh meat that is cut on the spot in the workshop of retail stores, while few consumers accept modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging.

Aaron Brody said: "We have been working for 60 years to change this situation, but the progress has been very limited. Currently in the US market, about 50% of ground beef products are prepackaged, and 50% is still sold in the form of primary processing. So, why has this phenomenon continued for 60 years? There are multiple reasons in the field of technology, nutritional science, quality control testing and economics. In the real-time cutting Only 20% of our meat is currently prepackaged, even though we've been working on it for 60 years. We've been arguing about it for 40, 50 years. Currently, retailers are starting to pay attention to gas The shelf life of fresh meat products is adjusted, and the shelf life of meat products from retailers such as Walmart and Target are set very short.

And this is actually a waste of meat, and there is no effective solution to such problems. Aaron Brody said: "So, why can't we sell 100 percent prepackaged meat in the supermarket? The problem behind this is that the logistics of the retail link does not achieve effective and accurate temperature control. Other than the United States In the market, I have seen commercial solutions to this type of problem. This approach is achieved through a large and multi-layered operation, and it is confirmed that the control of the temperature of the transfer link does help to promote the gas Adjust the fresh-keeping packaging.”

In fact, complete and complete temperature control is achievable from the time the livestock is slaughtered, the meat is collected and cut, until the meat is enjoyed by the consumer.

Aaron Brody said: "With perfect temperature control, meat can have a longer shelf life, and businesses and consumers can avoid meat waste. The cost of this technology is relatively expensive. But the fact On the other hand, the cost of meat lost in the process of meat segmentation, slitting and grinding in the operation workshop is more expensive, and the waste in these links is very amazing. We have the ability to extend the shelf life of products, improve Product quality. The application of modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging in retail will be very considerable, which is also the work that pre-packaged meat production enterprises are doing, but the current share of pre-packaged meat is still very small. Some consumption When people discover more complex and complete modified atmosphere packaging systems outside the US market, they often come to me and ask me, why do we not produce similar packaging? The reason behind this question is actually that retail sales such as supermarkets and stores In order to respect traditional consumption habits and ensure product sales, we adopted a very conservative attitude towards the promotion of modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging.”

Contributions and Circumstances of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Meat 1: In 1950, Aaron Brody cooperated with Dick Perdue to develop modified atmosphere packaging. This innovative technology has successfully helped the meat industry avoid millions of dollars in waste and losses, and provided consumers with fresh, nutritious meat at a cost advantage unmatched by other technologies.

Contribution and situation of modified atmosphere packaging for meat products 2: Meat production enterprises carry out operations such as meat segmentation, slitting, and grinding in the operation workshop, and the application of modified atmosphere packaging machines.

Contribution and Situation of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Meat 3: Why can't we sell 100% prepackaged meat in supermarkets? The problem behind this is that the logistics and transportation links in the retail link cannot achieve effective and accurate temperature control

Contribution and Situation 4 of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Meat: Through precise control of the gas inside the package, the freshness of the product can be extended very well