Effect of oxygen concentration on the shelf-life of fresh pork packed in a modified atmosphere

Freshly slaughtered meat was packed in modified atmosphere packs (MAP) containing 5%, 15%, 25%, 35%, 45% and 55% O2 along with 20% CO2 in each package and stored for 8 days at 4°C. The samples were evaluated on the 8th day in terms of TVBN total volatile base nitrogen (TVBN) value, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs) value, colour acceptability score, overall acceptability score and total microbial count. The result indicated better effects for 45% and 55% O2-containing MAP; however, the TBARs value of 45% O2 atmosphere was significantly lower, without having significant differences in other evaluation criteria, than in the 55% O2 package; hence 45% O2 and 20% CO2 gas mixture were selected as the most appropriate gas composition for fresh pork packaging.