Past, current and potential utilisation of active and intelligent packaging systems for meat and muscle-based products: A review
Introduction
Due to increased demands for greater stringency in relation to hygiene and safety issues associated with fresh and processed meat products, coupled with ever-increasing demands by retailers for cost-effective extensions to product shelf-lives and the requirement to meet consumer expectations in relation to convenience and quality (increased product range, easy use and minimum product preparation, provision of more product information and packaging impact on the environment), the food packaging industry has rapidly developed to meet and satisfy expectations. In fact, so rapid has this development been that food companies, and more specifically meat processors, struggle to keep pace with developments. Yet despite major developments in packaging materials and systems, the fundamental principles of packaging meat products remain the same.
Packaging fresh meat is carried out to avoid contamination, delay spoilage, permit some enzymatic activity to improve tenderness, reduce weight loss, and where applicable, to ensure an oxymyoglobin or cherry-red colour in red meats at retail or customer level (Brody, 1997). When considering processed meat products, factors such as dehydration, lipid oxidation, discoloration and loss of aroma must be taken into account (Mondry, 1996). Many meat packaging systems currently exist, each with different attributes and applications. These systems range from overwrap packaging for short-term chilled storage and/or retail display, to a diversity of specified modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) systems for longer-term chilled storage and/or display, to vacuum packaging, bulk-gas flushing or MAP systems using 100% carbon dioxide for long-term chilled storage. Due to the diversity of product characteristics and basic meat packaging demands and applications, any packaging technologies offering to deliver more product and quality control in an economic and diverse manner would be favourably welcomed. Two such packaging approaches currently exist and can be divided into two distinct categories; active packaging technologies and intelligent packaging technologies.
Active packaging refers to the incorporation of certain additives into packaging systems (whether loose within the pack, attached to the inside of packaging materials or incorporated within the packaging materials themselves) with the aim of maintaining or extending product quality and shelf-life. Packaging may be termed active when it performs some desired role in food preservation other than providing an inert barrier to external conditions (Hutton, 2003). Active packaging has been defined as packaging, which ‘changes the condition of the packed food to extend shelf-life or to improve safety or sensory properties, while maintaining the quality of packaged food’ (Ahvenainen, 2003). The development of a whole range of active packaging systems, some of which may have applications in both new and existing food products, is fairly new. Active packaging includes additives or ‘freshness enhancers’ that can participate in a host of packaging applications and by so doing, enhance the preservation function of the primary packaging system (Table 1).
Intelligent packaging (also more loosely described as smart packaging) is packaging that in some way senses some properties of the food it encloses or the environment in which it is kept and which is able to inform the manufacturer, retailer and consumer of the state of these properties. Although distinctly different from the concept of active packaging, features of intelligent packaging can be used to check the effectiveness and integrity of active packaging systems (Hutton, 2003). Intelligent packaging has been defined as packaging ‘systems which monitor the condition of packaged foods to give information about the quality of the packaged food during transport and storage’ (Ahvenainen, 2003). Smart packaging devices, which may be an integral component or inherent property of a foodstuff’s packaging, can be used to monitor a plethora of food pack attributes (Table 2).
From the outline descriptions of the numerous active and intelligent packaging technologies currently in existence, only a limited number are currently relevant to meat and meat product packaging applications. However, research developments in the areas of active packaging and intelligent packaging technologies are progressing rapidly and potential applications are likely. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to examine the active packaging and intelligent packaging systems that have been, or are currently being used for meat and meat product application, and assess new and developing systems that may have potential for commercial use with meat packaging systems into the future.
Section snippets
Active packaging of muscle foods
Preservative packaging, as applied to muscle foods, should maintain acceptable appearance, odour and flavour and delay the onset of microbial spoilage. A variety of packaging systems and technologies are currently available for muscle foods, specifically fresh and cooked meats and meat products. For example, fresh red meats may simply be placed on trays and over-wrapped with an oxygen permeable film or placed within a gaseous environment containing high levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Intelligent packaging
Perhaps the most commonly encountered definition of intelligent packaging (and one to which these authors shall adhere for the purposes of this review) is provided by the European study ‘Evaluating Safety, Effectiveness, Economic-environmental Impact and Consumer Acceptance of Active and Intelligent Packaging (ACTIPAK-FAIR CT 98-4170, 1999–2001) as ‘systems that monitor the condition of packaged foods to give information about the quality of the packaged food during transport and storage’.
Conclusion
The ultimate incentive for deployment of any new technology is cost. The cost effectiveness of active and intelligent packaging devices is dependent on the perceived benefits derived from such systems. Producers must ultimately derive benefit from increased profit margins and consumers must derive benefit as ‘utility’ or satisfaction from economic exchange. Economies of scale suggest that the cost of many active packaging devices (scavengers, absorbers, emitters) or intelligent packaging
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