CA2425864A1 - Method for the long-term preservation of meat and the meat processed thereby - Google Patents
Method for the long-term preservation of meat and the meat processed thereby Download PDFInfo
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- CA2425864A1 CA2425864A1 CA002425864A CA2425864A CA2425864A1 CA 2425864 A1 CA2425864 A1 CA 2425864A1 CA 002425864 A CA002425864 A CA 002425864A CA 2425864 A CA2425864 A CA 2425864A CA 2425864 A1 CA2425864 A1 CA 2425864A1
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- Prior art keywords
- meat
- carbon monoxide
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Classifications
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
- A23B—PRESERVING, e.g. BY CANNING, MEAT, FISH, EGGS, FRUIT, VEGETABLES, EDIBLE SEEDS; CHEMICAL RIPENING OF FRUIT OR VEGETABLES; THE PRESERVED, RIPENED, OR CANNED PRODUCTS
- A23B4/00—General methods for preserving meat, sausages, fish or fish products
- A23B4/10—Coating with a protective layer; Compositions or apparatus therefor
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
- A23B—PRESERVING, e.g. BY CANNING, MEAT, FISH, EGGS, FRUIT, VEGETABLES, EDIBLE SEEDS; CHEMICAL RIPENING OF FRUIT OR VEGETABLES; THE PRESERVED, RIPENED, OR CANNED PRODUCTS
- A23B4/00—General methods for preserving meat, sausages, fish or fish products
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
- A23B—PRESERVING, e.g. BY CANNING, MEAT, FISH, EGGS, FRUIT, VEGETABLES, EDIBLE SEEDS; CHEMICAL RIPENING OF FRUIT OR VEGETABLES; THE PRESERVED, RIPENED, OR CANNED PRODUCTS
- A23B4/00—General methods for preserving meat, sausages, fish or fish products
- A23B4/14—Preserving with chemicals not covered by groups A23B4/02 or A23B4/12
- A23B4/16—Preserving with chemicals not covered by groups A23B4/02 or A23B4/12 in the form of gases, e.g. fumigation; Compositions or apparatus therefor
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- Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
- Zoology (AREA)
- Food Science & Technology (AREA)
- Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Meat, Egg Or Seafood Products (AREA)
- Food Preservation Except Freezing, Refrigeration, And Drying (AREA)
- Coloring Foods And Improving Nutritive Qualities (AREA)
Abstract
A method for preserving meat and the meat processed thereby is disclosed. The method includes the steps of exposing raw meat to an atmosphere consisting essentially of carbon monoxide and maintaining the meat in a sealed container to maintain color and freshness while retarding bacterial growth.
Description
A METHOD FOR THE LONG-TERM PRESERVAT1(aN OF MEAT
AND THE MEAT PROCESS THEREBY
CROSS-RELATED REEERENeE SECTION
his is a C;ontmuation-in-Part application of the ! Jnited S! 3tc'.s Paier,t Appliea'.icn serial No. 0914c'sG.812, filed January :0, 20c~J. which is a divisior-,al csf United States Patent .Appiicatior' Serial No. 08.'945,264, flit: ~ January 2t~, ~ g98, r~a;~r Unite~~ States PateW Na. 6,0.2,859, all of wt~icfr ara :r;corl::~ra".~_i nerE~ir~ by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL !~IE~.U
The present invention relates to a method for preserving raw m~;at and snore specifically relates to a method for preserving raw meat and prr:vE?r~tin~e micro ~yr;;wth l~y exposing the meat to an atmosphere consisting essentia(Vy c~T car~;c~r, r,7onc;xi~:lc~.
>tj BACKGROUND ART
It is well known it the meat processing industry that frorts trva lirr~v~
animals are:
:;laugh',ered, measures noust be taken to preserve the meat and prevent i~.
frc~rr~
beg~~~r-ring rancid or spoiled. The measures to preserve rv°<< rr;e:~:
mt:st b~~
inopiernervted and carried trrrougn from the tirr,e the ar~im~-x~ is fi°~; _~(v~,!gr~tere:j thra;.~gh the tune the meat is purchased and ultimately coroa..~rr~r~;d by ,ire r>urc;h;aser.
Historically, preservation of the frc hness or quali!y pr the meats tea; keen L:raCticed for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Eariv preservati~-;rf techr n~ors ,o rr~r,at soak the form of drying or "~r~rking" meat and pac;k~ry or _:forir~:1 ~,.~ts c;i ~~4:l~t;t >rr salt. This method, while somewh-.~t effective fpm presar'ring me:~t anci i.zepirv~. it frr;-~n t~ecorning spoiled, had many r~rawbacks not the !east o' whict; was ~.hf:
~nc;crr;or::vir>r~
c3f large ar~~~ounts of salt rnto meat slated f':r human c:or~srampticn.
the use of additives pr preservatives such as w;trates and nirite~~ tr.~
r,~e,:~t_ is arrctht?r .o~:-anon technique for preserv:rg meat over tire I-!~~we~.~er, it,~~°~: ~ a w,~:~~
increasing evidence that such ac~~ditives r~nay have harr!~f'~~, even r.ar,:ir~,~c~:n;ic~:
drawbacks Th~:se drawbacks de;ract from the use of these c;orr}oounds a mechanisms for the long-term preservation of meat.
V~,'ith the introduction ;~f relabie means for refrigeration, i.e., ti~;e abiiityr to rr~aintair~ a, low temperature rcgar'~!less of tine external environrn.nt, ane long-tarrn prrse~vation of raw meat has been greatly enhanced army greatly irlcreaved thF
1~s cf~~ration of the preservation. Frequently, in modern meat process!ng. ar-~ima~:: :~r slaruc;htered at one place which .:an oe remote fronv tim: pri-~t cvf ~~a!a ;end the sventu~! consumer, and as much as a w~:ek can pass before the rrr~~ut is aca.~aly corsurr.ed. This lag between the slaughtering of the meat anc~ its ~~.cins!ln~
~tr:;n require:, that the meat be constantly maintained ur~der~ rrfrr~eratic~!~ ~r~
;:~rd:;~ to.
i5 presa.rve .1s quality and prevent its degradatior-~ over this tinny peric;cf.
f=or example, an animal ;a cow) may be slaughtered a,,rj cut ~r.t~:~ ha;v~::.
or quarters which are then forwarded tc~ a wholesaler or retailer v.~t~~-ertr~r~.r rr~:~y tar:
divined r;tc smalle~ cuts such as steaks or roasts. Ourr:rg the t-~~:~=a=:r ,~i tt:e rr.:~,at ?U lion; th=e slaughter house to the wholesaler or retailer, the me:a cnu4t.
:~m.:.vt ~ir~~:v:
frr~qv.~ently the meat is frozen in order to preserve its quaisty. ~ltter the rncat habrer~.
divi,:~ec~ ir5to cuts for sale to the ever-stual cunsurrser, it must alsUe r;~:~ir-~:air:f3d unv~e' constant refrigeration in order to l3resarve its quality. Under this distri;,c:tion 5uhe;n~:, r~ can tae from a few days to more than a week before ttr~? moat is pt.a~r:r~<3see.f ar:~~
'?:> c:oras:Jrr~ed. It, therefore: becomev; evident that this constant r.
qm~eme~t'ar °~.'e;y I~:,w jerTrpera'ures greatly contributes no the cost of meat.
,mother example of the c,stly disadvantages c>i very L~w tr~.raspu:~t~aion ~:zr-c!
storage temperatures car: be ~Ilustrated by practice of Icv~~ d's;ar~:e ~w~~E~r.~:c:~':r~
girl sh~prvent and distribution of fro<:en meat. Today, freezing is a star~ciard mrt'cod of distributing rrseat processed in once region of the world t~~ anotrer re=i;cr=
whE rw it iw~. t~>
beg c:(~nsUrrii-?d. nV6rSEj~S ~~t11~7T'r'Seflt C3f frCUZ:?rl meat fS :Both v~;r~j C':.''t.!'.,'' c:Tld ~a'I~~'~V~(:
rr;:at obtained by this method ~s rv~~ longer consrdere~to he "tre~;f~"
r~nc:ut. Tto t ~:;..
once a piece of meat has been troLen, by definition it i::> r~o longer cc~nsidor~d to t>~-'.~
"fre:~h." A n~ethocs of overseas transportation of meeit which rrraintain;~
the "freshne3s"
of nveat transported for distribution would be highly desirab'e. Sinca the c~n!y mete od availab~l~: for long cistarce overseas distribution of meat is by shippirrg frozen mr=,at, no method currently exists which would allow for the averSEas dtstr'ibUti~~~n Uf "freak,"
'9 unfrozen meat.
Transportation of slaughtered meat from tree sfaughterhon se to tir whcl r~':~I~.=;
or retailar requires the use of some form of refrigerated transportation: such at:
refrir~erated tractor-trailer trucks. This is a costly mode of trar~~~port~~ti.,n sir~~.:a it i r.Jqu;res specialized eauipment anc! extra mel to provide and m~~int~~~~
re'rige::~:ic~~r°~.
CaNnerally, two classes of -r~it~roorranisrrs are considereri tc~ t~ a unc:c:~iaul~: !-tie first class teeing aerobic and i.he second class being ~c~raerc~bic.. z '»:
ar;aeroi:i,-;
microanganisms include fa;~ultative (having both aerobic: and anaerc~~.~.c rne:abclic pathwaysj. the aerobic: rnicroorganisrns car;nct survive v'.~ithoc~r ox;~[=e;n wfvia: tf~:
t5 anaerobic microorganisms have a nor-oxygen requirernent for rr~ei~~holisrr~. It is it;~pcr~ant to note that iron is an es aerntial element for bottv, orc~anssrr~.s.
For both, growth of microorganisms spoil the meat by changing texturr:~, appearance and the development of bad odors. Tf;e paWvgenic. bac;tr ria ara th«~;e 2C in;er*,ering with the human host metabolism and iYlterf?re with nc;rrnal pi~ysioloc~y causing effects ranging from the rninor to tha lethal. the aerobic: Y~a.caeria are fil',ei-t~;~ arrive from outsida of the host organism. This is in contradistirv;aion frayn tha;
anaer,:,bir: fa~~.ultative microbe; which rnay be animal bor~;e because:
ri°,~~y r_ar~, crc~~rv ~r~
tf~e ;~osi devoid of fr::e oxyc~ev. However, neither bact~.:lr a are c~~:sir,abl_: t;~ f-.uvEe: o n ?; the rnaat. It is there?ore important to clevetop ways c->f eliminating ba~,r.~r;ai v.-;rc~~r~'~r h:.
it anaerobic or aerobic 4r, addition to preserving the overall quality arid fianess ;sf t;°;e rne~;t i ~~~
ccnsurvption, other methods have been derived which are airrsed ~.t preservir;c:; ttn:
:,r) color of fresh meat. That is, methods have been developed whic!~
rr,r,ir~ta'r!r:d fc:
example, the red color of fresh rrneat, such as beef.
Typicai examples of methods for treating raw meat to cr:~ser~~r~ the coi~r of ir:r;
n3eat ara disclosed in United States Patent Ncas. 3,459, ~ . ? tc:~ t<o~~f, et al., 4 ~t;'t ,.' ~.' and 4,Ut~9,983 both. to Nood, and 4,c>2~,835 and 3,930,U40 to ~Nooaruft et t~1_ AV of vhese ;patents disclose methods or processes for preserving or rnainta:riwg ;h.=: ccr:~r of meat such as beef, poultry or fish.
> Both of ttoe >-iaod references :~~sclc~se methods of ex;~o~~in;~ stn ;~~-,irr~a! prc~!~:ir~
source t:~ a rr~d;:cing agent and then an environment of cartoon rnorvoxicic:
~rv c:r~~e, t.
preserve the bright red cc!or o~ protein source. Additiorvaiiy, ttnc: ric=.~ca c~i a-.
references only treat siurrie5 of the protern ss:rurce as tr;is is required for :aturat~~.~rr t;y the carCcn rr,onoxide. The source is then mixed with the rc:rnainder c~' t'~e fooo~ ';tuff to prepare a moist dog Toad. Furtr;er, the references arv concerneo :only 4vitr~~ t!~:~
applicat~or~ of carbon mer~oxide in order to preserve the color of prac~uct an~i oth require subsequent processing, such as canning or heat 5teri;izat:o~ , in ~~.rr~r t;~
preserve the actual quality and freshness of the product. ~.ddition~~lly, the Ncoci 't?8;3 rFfera-rote discloses the addition of a suffrcie nt amount of microl~;c~lagica! a;~;;.i bacteriological inhibitors to further preserve the product.
Tne Woodruff et al. '835 reference discloses a process for rnairr:uir:in:~ a gcc.~c~
colcor and the freshness' meat by first exposing meat to «n atm~Jsphere with ~:;i sm~~l!
amo~nnt of r~xygen and then exposing the moat t;.s a modifies! atrrrosr~h~,:re cor~.ta~n~,~:~
?rJ a 5rrral', amount of carbon moncixide to ef;ect Ir!e cr~rwer ;ion e'' myogictiirv, t~.:, cart~r,x~,rnyogiotain. A third requir~:d Step is the maintc3nancc: ~.f ;i~e vneat pre ;or:
atmosphere of higher than 10°% carbon ioxide.
The Woodruff et al. 'U40 patent disclerses a proct~ss for storng or =.-;r~v,prrvci ':~5 fresh r~eat in a modified gaseous atmosphere. The proc~as re.quir~~s r~mir~~~tinr;p refrigerated meat in an artif;cial utmosph~~rs composed of oxygerr, carbon ~iioxid:~
arsd carbc,n monoxide as we!I as nitrogen. l tie carbon monoxide r'?wr be rornr~we:~
from the modified material after thc~ meat has been treated for at I~:a:.~:,':
c~r~e t~,-,,,~~.
'its the Woodruff at al. patents teach rnaintainir-rg the color ii, r~~e~?t oy traa:inc:, tiw meat witf-~ a mixture of gases including carbon monoxidt~. t hat i~, ~~rn trlt~~~r~r;nf a-t ct!.
pat~:nts teach chemical alteration of the surface of the rn~~ai t~;~
rr~air~°air-; the r~o!or c~f t~W meat arid utilize refrigeration !or meat preservatror°~
~'lcaditn,r~:i?i;; tip=: W~.~odrufs c.r a1. patents teach the treatment of meat using a gaseous rr-:ixturry ~;fi ~~rbor,~ rnc.>n,ox~c <, ~~xygan, carbon dioxiUe, and nitrogen. this mett-~od of k~eatrrm:~~,t re_ult~
ira the creation of a storage environment which t'ras low oxygen c«ncer~!~a'ic~n ar~~~
a. carbon dioxide concentration of approximatc;y ten percent. ~i-his type of g,~sec:;.rs mixture creaaes optima! growth conditions for the grGwth of microaerophil bactc-ria such as Neli:obaCter pylari and Camp_ylabacter jejuni which dre i'cnowr~, to ~:~e patr,ogervs which cause widespread gastroenteritis. The'JVoodr;~ff et al. method of trceating meat dyes maintain the color of fresh meat, however, the Woodruf; et ai. met~,od has tlaa drsadv~ntaga or accelerating bacterial contamination e; rhea; treated to,~
t'~a llVoodruff et al. method, thus shortening ttw storage life of thr: meat ~..reai~:~ ti,ert~by In The Koctr at ai. '177 patent discloses a cover use'u3 for treating rre:~r~ red wear with carbon monoxide ire r~rder to maintain the bright rF:;d volor c~f the meat.
Koch at al., teaches a cower comc~rised of two films wh~oh are sealed toget'vcr around the edges and which :onfines a quantity or carbon nnc~noxid~ c~~:
15 therr;:betvveen. E3oth film layers art: s~.~bstantially carbon monoxide i--npermeabl<:
when dry, f~~owever; ~rrhen the 'rlm is brought into contact ~r.'ah a fre::,hly c:ut sampla et tea meat, ',he rvosture m the meat vrets the film and transforrnra tr;e tiirn i,~t:~ a ~~:,-3rl~orl r-nenoxide pdrrneable structure. Tt~e carbon monoxide then contar:as the; meat sample thereby causing the meat to maintain its desired red color 'r U
The Australian Patent Gocument No. AU-A-t855:~,~'8a' tc~ 'i-amccyama ea al , discloses a method for maintaining and improving tha duality c~f meat by causing meat to contact and absorb carbon monoxide gas in a ~~rs~led c:o.-rtai~~er and turn rec;uiring removal ef the carbon monoxide gas from the c:~ntain~,r.
Pxamplifyind the cr~ticafity of the removal of the carbon monoxide gas from tt,e coo; ~t~3incr, the p:~.'.ent rec~ures that the carbon monoxide gas within the container be :~;:::~:e~7 ;nc~! disci~argc by rt~,eans of a pump.
Hereto, the treatment of raw meat with carton ,mono.;icJ~~ h~ui~eer;
t;it~:al:i 3Ca simp;y as a rr~ecoanism for preserving the color of tt-i a n,,:=~t <:~nd, nc.:r .~s n~ac:har~ism for the long-term preservation of a rneat s.~rnple ~~;ver tirn::
in ;_~, frr;~.h, non-frozen form.
'v~Jhite tt~e above-disclosed patents teach the exposure,: of raw rneat tc c~as mixtr.jres corvtaimng carbon rnc~n~:~xide or the exposure of meat slurriras to cart~c~rs monoxv,de in combination with other steps, they fail to teach a simpl<:
noefh~or. of exposirwg raw meat solely to carbon rraonox:de.
1n o-der to overcome the problems and deficisncses of ~,t;s prior art mErthoes, it i,s desirable that a method of preserving raw meat be tntroduved wrnich eliminat~a t>,~e cost arid associated problems with the prior an prose rvatiorn F<:chnic:pes.
z0 P.pp!icant has devel,~~ped a single step method f~~r prt.-ser~.~ir;c~ rreaw ~,y expo~:ir-,g raw meat tc an atmosphere cransisting essentiaity ~~f cart:~c~n monoxide anci, ~,r~en, storing th<: rneak in a sealed container_ tJnlike prior art preservation metrncis, nc: additior>al steps, compounds or additives are required ire order to proven: toe growtra of microbiological or bacteria! organisrn~~.
;;
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGtwS
According to the present inventioP~, a method for preseo;ing roaat by expesin~3 ruS'J raW3t t0 ctr', atmosphere C011S15tinc~ ~'SSE~ntla.!ly Of Ca:rJC7~'.
ri'~Orla:x:!dE= IS 5i10'~Vr'-i~l~E'a; tr-G'atPd aCCOrdlrlg t0 t~l-~~ present invention rrl3y r'fOt YEqt:lrv= any' fOnm C~t suosequent refrigeration under cert~air~ e:onditior,s and time ;.:_~:ri>tr:.v;~:t:; and can t;c:
siored for long periods of time foitowing treatment with ihEr ~:art~un r~v,~rwxide v,~ithr_~~.~:
~;rgrliii;.ar'at bacterial gro~nrtt~,, without fxee.~ing, anC' witt-;out a lc.lss ir7 m~~rat ctuaf~;ty E'~Isc promdad by tt~e present invention I:; a method of preventing mi~rc:~r~~n;nssrn cdrcwth ii;
?J rr'.i?ctt by P.XpOSing raw meet t0 3r' d'~T'~USprler~' COnSiStina 'r':S:~e;lt;~~.liy )~ C;c'~fl)t~>il m or oxide.
BRIEF flESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other advantages of the present invention will be rt~ad,ly ap~~reciated as tt~~.
~ic) same becomes better understood by reference to the fe~llowiru~ detailed des ~riptic,n when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wh~~reir~~
f=~1GURF 1 is a bar graph of the relationship between aero~Sic bacterial growth an a-f-resh meat sample stored at 22-30'G over timF~ Sri .;itner a :~O
tre~t~~;-i :nvircnment or ars air only environment, .. FIGURE 2a is a histogram illustrating preservation duration C~) preserved meats and air treated meat preserved at 5 ~-!- 3''C as determined by Ivlicroaerophil c~rowtll;
FIGURE 2b is a histogram illustrating preservation d~~ratior~, of C~) preserved 1t) meats and air treated meat presen,~ed at 5 -~I- 3"C as determined ry total viaole .erot~i,. bacterial growth;
FIGURF_ 3 is a graph illu:~trating spectral analysis of the amounts or hemoglobin in tt~e Mood of cats that consumed eivhe- CO heated ~r.t~at : ~r air treate~~' J ~ meat;
f=IGIJRrr 4 ~s a photagra~~h i!~ustratinc; meats, ti"v.e c~~>'vors c:f rrmeat Create:-; ~~viti-s {A) vacuum only, (B) N~. (C) air, and (D) CO;
.'U FIGt~R>= 5 is a photograph illustrating the color changa in n-~eat treated without C;O (left) and meat treated with CO (rvght);
FIGURE 6 is a photograph illustrating the interrsal color change of rweat treated without CO (left) and meat trea'ed with CO (right):
:: l FIGURE 7 is a photograph ifiustratinc~ the color chance: of d piecfe of f;e_~rC.:i treated meat stored at 5"C for three daVS;
FIGURE 8 is a photograph illustrating ttoe sarnca meat sar~~:~lA s',~c?wn in F
gt;rc:
30 7 stored with CW at 5°C for ten day,;
FIGURE 9 is a photograph illustrating a transvers=- cut of thff maat s~
E~r=I:~IF
sho~rvn in FIGURE 8 made at 7 crn from the edge sf~ow,r7g rvomogE~nc~us bric~tvt rHd colc;r;
FIGURE 10 is a photograph i',lustrating transverse c~,~ts c' t:.G tr:ated y(evt and frozen (rlgY~t~ meat samples alter twelve days of storage;
s FIGURE 11 is a pho:cgraph of the transverse cuts cf rneat shown in FIGUt=IF
1 C~ altar cooking;
FIGURE t:? is a photograph Illustrating transverse cut= e~ tt;e ~~.~~::k=~d m:'a' sarnple~ shown in FIGURE 1 . ;
FIGURf~ 1:3 is a photograph illustrating a section of CO treat~:r~ mr.~~: as sfo3wn in FIGURE 10, follo5rving exposure to «pen air 3t 5°C: for two weeks, at thE: er~d cf t-His t~Yvo week period, the r;~eat sample wG~s ground, a 2t~0 gram ''hamburger-like'' s;~m ~!e was cr.oked and released CC> way measured, ytopj prira~- to ~.;..~c~king.
(ta~:~tte:ri~~
1 > ic~4lowin , cooking;
I=I~~URE 14 is a graph showing toe grov~.~th of E coli on beef und~=.r a dtjfiro~cf atm«spheres t~avir~g either untreated or ~~.igh <,arbon monoxide atr~~ospheres;
F1GURF 15 is a graph showing the growtfl of E coli ors beef unc~::r a d:~fiae~i atmosphere having either untreated c.~r Io~N carbon monoxide atmosphere;
F-ICaLJRF_ 16 ,s a graph showing the growth of F'seudornonas flu~~resCenct~
oc'~
beEt under defined atmospheres having untreated atrncsphere, low r;arbon mono:cide or high carbon monoxide atmcsphare;
fVIGUR~ 17 is a graph ;showing ;he growth of Stapi~,ylococ~~:u_~ ~~ .ue.s c~r~; waf unr~eT a deiinaa atmospheres, the atmosphere either beli1~~ t;r~tr~,ate~::j cr urith rric;':
carbon monoxid=e;
'l c) FIGURE 18 is a graph showing the growth cf Listeria mor;oc;jtoY~=:!'rra on be~:f under a defined atmospheres, the atmc;sph~;re is beyng eitll~~r ~:ntr::atE>c~, I:.~w ca~b,~n monoxide, or high carbon monoxide:
FIGURE 19 is a graph showing the growth of Clostridium prefringE:ns on bes>.
finder defined atmospheres as having either untreated, low carbon mr_.nox:de or hich carbon monoxide atmospheres;
s F1GURE ?~ is a graph showing the growth of Salrnon~:=fla Tyonirr~iri~,~rrn on beef under defined atmospheres, either untreated, low carbon rT~onoxvd~:~r r~iah varb<~r~
monoxide atrnospheres;
FIGURE 21 is a graph showing the growtru of bisteria mc~noc;~,r~toeri, on i0 poultry r,nder dafir.ed atmospheres ::~f wither untreated or high czr':~ormncr~or:icle atrn~ospherv=s;
FIGURE 22 is a graph showing the growth of Pseudomonas fiuoresc.ence on poultry under defrned atmospheres of either untreated atmosphere or high car'r~c:n 15 monoxoe atmosphere; and FIGURE .'~3 is a graph showing the growth of clostridium pra;ringens orr poultry undE::r defined atmospheres of either untreated, low carbon monv:xide, or t~igc ;:«rbon monoxide atmosphera.
pt>
DE-1'AILED DESCRIPT10N OF THE PFtEFERR'ED f~MI~OI71MENT
Cenarally, the present inven'ion provides a method for preserving o:a~.t tw exposing raw moat, processed or riot, to an atmosphere: corrs~stir~g rsser~tially <af carbon rr~onoxide (C4l and, subsee_luently, storing the rnar3t irv a s~ea'ed cc~nr.: ir;r:r.
-the present invention also provides a method for preventing micrr_jor~~anisrn grov~~ttv rrv2at by exposing raw meat, processed or not, to are atm~.~sph_~re cons sung essentially of carbon monoxide, and sub~:equently stor;ng tt-~e meat: irr a sE:aled container.
3t1 Far the purposes of the present invention, the terra "rne:zt' is defir7;d to include a!1 types of fresh meat arid fl esh poultry suc~n as bEc:~, pco~k. vea I, i~.rr,b chicken, turkey, fish and rne like. Toe meat may be m the tc~cm <;f aarc:asses p~ir-~a':
(e.g., quarters, subprimals {e.g., top roundl, or retail cuts te.g : staarc~, qrour~~~, rr:e~.c and roasts] The process is also effective on whole anirnals inclr.rc~ing, t~;'v not 'imit~~d to, cattl:, chickens, and fish, Unlike yr;or art methods, the meat need n:~:':
be Icarr :;!
or otherwise pretreatea. "Fresrl merit" is defined as a meat article wr5i~~h t-ws :~~~t been frozen and subsecauently thawed before its sale or consurr-~pt;ori.
:>
By preserving, it is meant that the meat maintains a pleasing cof~~r~, does n;;t spoil and develop a rou4 smell, bacterial growth is signifrcar~tly inhi'rited or retarded, and rarnains completely pleasing, edible and consumab'rby r5urnan~; and ,~trv~r animals. Preservation is not only maintained on the surface of th:: mElat; but a's~
1i) throughout the entirety of the meat. That is the rneat is preserved tt~r:~ughout the thickness of the meat. "Pleasing color" irnplies that the c~:~ior of the meat, preseu,~ect by the method according tn the present inventic:>n, is such that it stirr,ulates t~nc~
apc~etite to consume the meat That is, the color and odor ;of the r~res=~rve~~
rneat ~ s such treat a consumer would be enticed by the meat and would warn to ia~risurr;e tf~:~~
I > meat. Again, meat color is also :reserved thioughout the thic~:r~e;;5 of thr~ rr;eat.
t'he ~errr "without freezing" is defined as storing the n-feat ~rvt~~:areir~
~li~.
temperature is kept between approximately -' to ,~0"(~. Ttre t=arrn '~,rvithc;a freezir;rv"
also excludes the use of any device or method for freezing the meat. :uo.~r devic;Fs iri::lucle, meohar,vcai or electrical refrigeration devices sucri as rrfric3erat;rs, free: ors, coolers, and chillers. ~T-his term also excludes the preservati«n ~* mr:~" ~~y fre~,zirig through storage on ice.
ThEdata included herewith have established that'the growth c_-,.t all ;-zathr,~rrer~,~~
25 v~ras inhibited when meat was treatt:d under a carbon r-non;sxicle :~c~rnta;~;ir~g atmrsphere. Further, the level of inhibition increases upon th=~ eic~.~ati~~r, o- ti a carbon monoxide content in t"re rnedvfied atmosphere. I-r;,;rc~fcre, by E~xposr:;g m~;~.
to an atmastJt;ere containing carbon r,~ono:<ide, not only ~s tim rrseat it_,elt ~:resc:rv~~a f~ut further, there is a.n inhibitor of pathotfen growth or~ tha: rrrc;at. l he i~~hi~itir,e W) enables the IifE: span of the meat to be increasr~d without sacr~ificiny any saT,,:ty it disturbing the meat to be consumers.
E:vxpos;ng raw rr:eat to, an atrr~os.phe;a consis'ing e;a:~enti~rl;y crf c.o~t~~~r, rT~onoxide is defined as bringing into intimate contact both carborv mor~~,xide gas arl:~
the meat being treated The atmosphere preferably cons,sts of carboro morvoxeje.
This tv~m also includes the com~leta conversion of myogi<:bin present in t'~c rr~~lat sample to carbaxymyoglobin and, the ccamplete conversion if rrryroglobin to c;arhcxymyogiobin/carboxyhemogiobin ii; fish. The meat is completely immerse d or saturated with carbon monoxide.
More specifically, a cross-section of rneat is corwpleteiy imnwrs~ecJ in or .aturatr_-d to its core ~rrith carb:~n monoxide from the expUSed suriace~~
through the>>
r.:r,tirt~ :,mss-section {thickness] including i~s c:ore region arid r~tain:~
t'-~a c:arbr.:r~
menoxidr;: ~.mtil tf'~e mea' is ~:;ooked Tf~us, as stated aboard::, tfw n;aat is ~re;~rrued t~nroughcut its thickness.
Carbon monoxide is inherently a very inert gas. Carbon monaxi<~e is reiat,vF:!y more inert than nitric oxide gas (NO] released from nitriteu which gave luec~n l3sr=d as 15 preservatives for meat for several hundreds years. Carbon monoxide is ~
w.rmai rretaLalite in the IJcdy. 1t is produced indigE:nously as a prud~,~ct of ~~err,e ~~atabc~lirr!
(,rn;~st!y the breakdovvn of hemoglobin). Carbon monoxide is iurtt-ne-c;;r.,~vertcd to carbon dioxide and is released from the body in treat fc3rrr~ R4r:Er~tl~~, I~
c5~~s been ;crrnc' that normal metabolism utilizes carbon moncixide as a neural Ic;gic;a!
:.0 m::ssenge~. {Baranaga, X9931 The high toxicity of carboy: mcno.x;zie qfynrrally ;sterns from its abilify to compete with c~xlc~en for binding to hemoglobin.
~'ractically ail of the carbon monoxide {over 99.9°~) taken up by meat ~,vili h~;
maintained as hemoglobin and myoglabin (Hbifv1b) hour:;.! forrr~5. Tt-r~:
distribc~'ion c:
?> carbon mOr~OXide In tl~e meat is a~;sur~~ed to be abo!~t h:~lf in each clabin tvE.:~:. l tai;;
r:stir°~,aticn is based on t"~e fact that mammalian muscles ;wont<~in approxin,< W:'y t~:v~r tt;irds of their giobins a~, hernoglouln and one-ttvird as rr,yc;gic;hiri, b.lt v~r'r~er; r~~,r rr;~!, becimies packed as neat, it looses a porti~~n of its t-sr:r?w:~lobirn-30 Both hemoglobin and myoglobin bind carbon m«noxide much more strong'y than oxygen. Native Fib/Mb contain iron and divalent cxidatic~n. state fFet') al.d only ire this torm are Hb/Mb capable of binding the gas liganda O?, IW 7, arid CO.
f ~-llc~wir r any change in tt-se iron oxidation state, HbIMb Sooa~~ thfair CC~ bind~rng a!~ility t1 Uenaturatiov of the proteins {c,.g. c~y treat) can aiso result in loss at (:;O
bin~-a;r~g potential lay wet! as other iigands}.
t-iblMb are established c:ataiyzers of the axidatiarv process in bioiogic:ai tissues. Under regular atmospheric conditions, ttoe Hbi~~tb m tre:;h rr~s:at, vr~;oict-~ are it their nraive form, exist in a O~ bound form, th<: so-called oxy-Hb!Nlb. «xy-~ibl''Y~b terv_is to undergo autooxidaticn to rnet-HblMb namely the cxidutiorl ~:~f tt~~: ~1"fl'~a1b dSVulent iron to Fe'"'~ can concomitaraly with the for--;atron cf superaxide anion cO;f by the reaction oxy-HbINIb {Fe'' . . . 0"r > Met Hb{Fe'') + O, The superoxide anion is unstable and further forms hydrogen perc~xi:-~~ (i 1-,0:~~
wh;ch together with HbIMb acts as a highly active percxidaticn ~yst4rn Pt~~r:-t-Ht;,'Ntt:
no longer binds any of the gas ligands including carbonn monoxide. (fir tha o:her f~lar,~d, tha Met-t-iblMb are catafyzers of axidations. Unlike tt~e case ~t c3xy:~=n be;and 1> to Hb/Mb, in a carbon rr onoxida bound form, KblMb are p-otected from autooxidatian. Therefore, to protect meats from autoaxidation, carbon;
mcnoxice is best ac:piied to tr2stn meat.
It is thought that the rnecrtanism for carbon ~;~onnxide prr;serwr~g ~: t rr7 pat is ?~) the mrach greater affinity of myoglobin for carbon mc~noxrdz than f~:r ~xygcer.
F:~llowing this mechanism, carbon morvaxide out-competes c~xygr:ri for b:ndu~g orn~;~
myoglobin molecules within the meat structure. E3y completely displacing axyg:~rt, t-~~:
micro-environment of the meat becorT~es mere anaerobic; and, thereicy, prtv~~~rns or inhibits the growth of aerobic microcrganisms, such as ~~::h~rrt;hia ~::oll, which ar~-' :?S responsible for spoilage ana degradation cf frash m4.:at and illnsss.
pna::rabia;
bacterial growth, such as .~~~croaerophila, is also inhnited when this rTmtt pd i utilized. This proposed mechanism of carbnrr rnonc.~xide a~ai:~n is rrercly illustraaive purposes anti in no ways should be construed as limiting.
3ti Ttve ability to inhibit or prevent the growth cf rnicroarganis,-i~~:~
al!aws nor tt~r:
extended storage of meat treate~S according to the present rnoti-;oe 'T'ttat i~:, r;eat~
treated according to the present irwention have a longer ~;tc;rage rite c,rra r.~:rrr; n i~u;~
viable ar~i edible in a non-contarrrinated form f or parioc~s lor~c,~er than th:-,s~ avail~bih using current preservation techrvique ~..
1r, the practice of the present invention, meat samples are pface~:i it ~ an :nclosure or container and flushed or exposed to carbon monoxide gas.
The process consists of t.wo stages:
(A', ''Meat packing" which refers to introducing the meat irrt;~r a ;~c,nf:ned atmosphere. "Packed meat" refers to meat wr";.h ryas ur7d~a a:~cne the meat packing part of th:~ proce~;s.
t;E3; "Meat preservation" whch involves maintaining the 'packed meat" urrtii it reaches the consrarn~r.
1>
Meat PacKin-g rt-~e container for treatment, storage, and transportati~r; of meat by tl~e.
method of the present invention can be constructed of various gas-impermeable ?() materia'~ such as plastic, rr~atal, ano other materials known in the art. -f he cont:~inrr can lJe equipped with both gas inlet and cutlet char~nefs wench can by opens j r_.o ailoSrv the nrrflux of gas (CC~j c~ closed in c,~.rder to render the c:cntainar seaie~~.
A suitable container would be capable of rrsaintaining a seal t:~ prever~j the '?:> esc:aK;e oaf carbon monoxide gas frcrn tine container. For exarnp:: , the r~~~r~tairrer r.;~r~
be a sealed room in whici~ large amounts of meat may be treated at a c~i~~~en tin~a, t~ ~r=:~
container .~an also be d smaller sea'able container or c:r~amt:rer.
Preferaialy, ttw container is of larger volume t>~~an the volume of meat being treated tr_~
allow Uor a greater volume ct r:arbcn monoxide gas to contact the rrwjt maniple.
ii 0 !r. a preferred embodiment ~f the irwention, meat samf~ir-~;; a~~3 :re~tec ar~ci stored within plastic bags corvstructed of a material which rs satc T:~.r th°:e st~-~rage c~f toc.~d products such as poiyvinylidene chloride. Preferably, the plastic 'tags v, iil i~.-~
constructed of a material that is imperrneable to the passage of gases, ti~aretf~r~,t~gl'r.
Thusly, the meat is maintained in the carbon monoxide atrrncsphere ~,vi~;!-~in tt-re oag (containPrj during storage.
After a piece of meat to be treated according to the method of ahe present :i inventn_~n is placed ire a su~tab.4e covtain~;r, the contain~::r is there !i!lr~d v~i;h thF ~.,0 gas. The additron of the CO gas can be accomplished in any suita.E~!e ~~~a~ir~er;
however, the preferred methods include first removing the gas atrrvospr~er2 vreer:k in the container (usually air) by usinra a vacuurn pump, as is ~ve',t krvovvn io tt~~: ur., to remove any gases present and tht container. The conta;r~er is than f~.l:~c!
with C~J
tti from a sou-ce such as a gas cylinder.
Tiw container is carvne cted to the CO containing cylinder and C;C) is ir~trodvaced. Input and output pressures are measured durirog the filf;nc~
process Tt~e inQut pressure is generally maintained within a range of anpruximut=:~iy 1.~:~
r~ ~:
15 atrnospi,eres. i~he preferred pressure is approximately 2.0 atmosf:n7~:res.
lJr~.~r:
reaching the preferred pressure m ttoe output, ttve gas flow is stoppe:j ar;c~
ex;:es:.
gas is allowed to escape until the pressure within tire conta;ner readies approximately ' .Q to 1.? atmospheres. 1-he preferred gas pressure in the container it ape~t~rcxirnately 1.1 atmospheres.
?U
During the gas filling operation, the ambient temt~E~rature of t'~r~:
surr~:,~lr~cting can be maintained between -2 td 3?''G.
The parameters that govern gas filling or exposure tir7~e vary ~!ependinc~ ors ~5 tV~a pressure of the gas input, the diroen:;ions of tote ir:aet an~.~
~~uti:.i ~a-~anr~:i~, :~r~ci tfu=: ciirrrer-!sions of tfve ccr~tair~er.
=or meat packing, expos~.~re of only the surfaces cef t'r~: meat tc~ ;;:riJOr:
monoxide is generally required however, for the purposes of meat V~reserl~ati:~n, ttrf~
30 gas filling time should be tong enougt-r to allow for a sutfic'ent arro:ant of CO gas io be completely absorbed ;throughout its thickness) into tike t7~eat urld~Jrc~r~ir c~
treatment. That is, enough GO gas is flushed through the container to ail~_aw~
tc~r tr':_=
complete penetration an;~ protection of thr~ r,~eat berng t~aated.
1~
the gas filling time generally ranges from approximately one to ttnrty mirvutE~s with tt~P preferred filling time being approximately five minutes. For the purpcoses :f this inver;tion, exposure tune is c;efir:ed as the gas filling trine %~,gam, it shoulc.f tie noted tY~at the length of exposure of the carbon monoxide to a meat sam~rle will vary depending on the size of the meat sarnpie and the weight cat the meat s~mp!e beir7g treated.
Treat is, a larger and fseavier meat sample wilt re~c:~uirs a iongc;r period of ex~;osure to the carbon monoxide- in order to achieve long-term preservation.
irs other tip worcjs, a larger meat sample will require a longer exposure to cari~on rnonoxi;:~ in order to properly preserve the meat sample without the freezing.
The temperature during the carbon monoxide exposure is preferably batwcaen --2 and 37°C and can vary depen:~ing on the temperature selected lo in order to i5 carr~,~ cut the rr.ethod.
Meat treated as previously described above ger~eraliy ~r.~r~tairm from. p to 10g°o by weight or volume of CO gas The preferred volttrrie of CC~ n the treated rneat 's appr:;ximately 30°,'~ of the weight of the r~;eat (e.c3 ;~0 re; fir tJ~:~ grar;-s cf ~0 treated meat).
Under the meat preservation method Qf tfve present .nverti~un, tree rnEat surface is initially contacted with the C;Q gas. Since the surface of tlna rr7eat is tr;e most prominent site for the presence of bacteria, the meat treated by the ~~
ethod cf tt~e present invention is immediately protected. further, while sealed ire the ucnt;iin::o, penetration of the CO gas continues until the entire meat mass has bt~en pbnetrat=e~i end, thereby, protected. rhitotal penetration allows for the ccmpltetE
s~;bslitut c~rr r.f t.~otrn hernogiobin and myogicbin by the carboxy forms of these cornpourvds a:i shown in the following examples. The total CO treatment of tlv:= rhea.!
tllro;tt~t-~~:~u' i,-3c) triickness also enables meat which ha:> been treatE:d according :o the:
cv~:ar~i;:
invention to maintain a pleasing color for extended perioCs of tirr,e aftE:r tlve r~,r":at '~n~:;
been removed from the pact<aging or container in whicto it was tren-e~~. Trr=m is, :3:~
shown in the following examples, meat treated according tc.~ i'~re presf~ni ir~~.en'icn.
can be transported, unpacked. and then rnaintained rn a fresh form fo; a furt'mr axtPnd~:d period of time without a loss c>t color or quality.
'f'~e above discussion provides a tactual basis for the use of t'ne present :a invention as a method of tang-term preservation of meat at different te!~iperatt.r_~s without freezing. ~'r~e exampias also derrronstrate the preservation of the meat att.>,r undergoing tt-~e treatment of the present invention. The methoas used v~r~th and tt~e utility of the present invention o.an be shown b~l the to!iowing examples.
it) EXAMPLES
FXc"lrrl !e 1 Zh~ ffect of CC) Ext~asure tin Time Dependent Cf~ar~~c~~s ir~_~a~at,!1o!or:
l Samples of fresh meat (30 grams of beef, veal, or turkey} treated with CC by the method of the present invention were incubated in a suitable c:ant~.ir-rer for thirty minutes at a terYtperature of 1 ~~3°C Control samples were trzat~~d idern~:i;.ally to ~~c~-treated meaty but were treated with air. -T'hE~ meat same!<:s 4vc~re rernove~a from the '1O container and were placed ors an open benchtap at t5~-3~C, or in an air exposed thermostatically controlled environrrEent at ~3'T'G. The color of tire air t:
e~,teci moats t,~rned brown gradually (within three hours at 3-i'°C and twelve hour:>
at 15~;3'C;, irvdic:ating non~fresh or spoiled meat. In contrast, the C: C7-treated rnaat sarrlplQs rna~ntained a wine-red ~: oiar for at. least ~~i hours following exr~osr.rre.
~' J
Exam 1e 2 Comparison of CU air~N~and vacuum treated rnaats 30 Fresh meat quarters (beef) were keF~t for six days ~a --:?°C~. TNm:
meat washer cuL into 30 gram pieces (4" X '?" X 0.1 ") and divided into tour gr:~up~~; and treated ~::;
follows: (A) vacuumed and (2-4} were introduced into gas tight containers b~~
n;crt; icof previc>tasly described above and filled at a pressure of 1.'1 attnc~~pheraes wish g ~a .~t .~.
voit~rne which was ten time (10x) the volume of the meat. l-he g~uses u:~e~.
werf~.
:W group b filled with CO, group B fined with N~, and group C filled Lvit!~~
air. A ~mticrv ro the samples was kept at 1-5~3"C and the rest at 7'C. After twenty-f;~ur hours at 1513"C; ancf ,6 hours at r°C time c.:epender~t changes in color ~frere ok:>served. The samples at group A (maintained solely under vacuum) were bro~~~nish-purple. l-he samples of group B (,N~ treated samples) ware brownish-red. The samples of ~;~rc;~~t~
C ;air treated samples) vr.~are brown. However, the co;or of the samples of GrcG1 Co (CC) treated) were unchanged remaining bright wine-red as sho~~~ro ~r~ F
ic;~~re ~.
Exam 1e 3 Color Changes in Large Meat Chunks:
1t) _- Time Dendency.I~uring Meat Pres~rvati~~n Qeef chunks of 0.5 -- ~ ~> Kg were turned into GO-treated rrre.~n sump"es by treatin ~ with a ~t70°io meat volume of gas according to ttne mathod ;~f the pr2se;~t invention. Control chunks frcrn the same source were treated identica',ly but vvitn ;.sir :~ insteac' of GO. A!i of the c:hun~cs ware kept Zit 4°G. The surface color of tt~e air treated meat became brown after three days. ~rhe meat chunks were cut trG~nsvers:'rr f~:~r obser,raticn of color changes. Color change propagated with tame in :.11 rYveats from the surface ievvards the center of the chunk and were brown itn air treated san~p!~s and wir~~e-red in CO-treated sarnpies. Pollcmng eigl~nteen clays of incubation, ttv~: air '~0 treated chunks were completely dark brawn. 1n the C<)-treated m=at, thE:
coon c:har~ge was 3-5 mrr from tha: Jurface after one and a h«If hctjrs; Twt.=,Ive hotar= p:~st t~eatroent a two cm ring of color change was observed- i hree ~~ays post tre;~t nerat, only five percent of the area of tte transverse secticn rr:rr~ain.~;~a urr:hangt:;,i. At~~r seven days post treatment the colcJr change was corrpleta.
F~ropagation of the cclor from the surface into thh inte~iar or the chunks fc~~
chunks kept under SJ~o meat volume of gas was somewhat sit~wer ~-s co;ropare:.i a~
those chunks maintained kept unc:fer 1 JO°o meat volume gas. it ~s ;rrportant ! : r~,ofi.a:
that care should be taken to precedent adherence of any of the meet: surface to tt-~c:
30 container.
Example 4 Co'or Changes in Large Meat Chunks:
Time Deperrdenc~After Removal_Frorn Coritair~Fr J
An cxi:snment similar to ti ~e previous e:~ample was perforrrre~ e;;c;s,pt th~a tree OO-treated meat chunks anU the air treated meat chunks were rerr.ove~a fnem th~:ir containers after ~1 daysTrue colors observed were ttre sarn~: a:~ in tf-~~-.previ<_~~~s example;. The chunks were left open to the atmosphere at 4'C. The color of the C()-i(~ treated wrs maintained for foureen days. At day fourteen, only the surfrtce {<l~mm 1~
deep) of the CO-treated meat was brown. The color of the air Treated me~:t remain~:d dark brown throughout as shown in Figures 5 and 6.
example 5 Comparison of Bacterial Growth LJnder Air, CO and N~Atrr2psph~_res Meat samples weighing 4.00+-r).18 grams, were treated by ffushina wiitv eit-~~r a~r, CO, or v2. After twenty-four hours of storage at room tewperature {~ ~-~-'~°C) 4 x.cr;
?0 of the treated meat samples was soaked in sterile O.ISM smfium carlorn~=:
(t rW pt~r 2 gra~ns of treated meat) for ninety rr~inutes to extract any bacteria pr~.~sent on ti~,°
surface of individual samp4es. Aliquots of serial difutions of tf~e extracts were pl~~te;~
onto non-selectme agar plates (E3actoagar, Difco) and on Dram r~egaive se!ei:r.ivE:
plates (MacConkey, Difcoj. Ali the plates were incubated c~.rer nig'nt at .:3 i'~C; to a.!lo,r~
AND THE MEAT PROCESS THEREBY
CROSS-RELATED REEERENeE SECTION
his is a C;ontmuation-in-Part application of the ! Jnited S! 3tc'.s Paier,t Appliea'.icn serial No. 0914c'sG.812, filed January :0, 20c~J. which is a divisior-,al csf United States Patent .Appiicatior' Serial No. 08.'945,264, flit: ~ January 2t~, ~ g98, r~a;~r Unite~~ States PateW Na. 6,0.2,859, all of wt~icfr ara :r;corl::~ra".~_i nerE~ir~ by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL !~IE~.U
The present invention relates to a method for preserving raw m~;at and snore specifically relates to a method for preserving raw meat and prr:vE?r~tin~e micro ~yr;;wth l~y exposing the meat to an atmosphere consisting essentia(Vy c~T car~;c~r, r,7onc;xi~:lc~.
>tj BACKGROUND ART
It is well known it the meat processing industry that frorts trva lirr~v~
animals are:
:;laugh',ered, measures noust be taken to preserve the meat and prevent i~.
frc~rr~
beg~~~r-ring rancid or spoiled. The measures to preserve rv°<< rr;e:~:
mt:st b~~
inopiernervted and carried trrrougn from the tirr,e the ar~im~-x~ is fi°~; _~(v~,!gr~tere:j thra;.~gh the tune the meat is purchased and ultimately coroa..~rr~r~;d by ,ire r>urc;h;aser.
Historically, preservation of the frc hness or quali!y pr the meats tea; keen L:raCticed for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Eariv preservati~-;rf techr n~ors ,o rr~r,at soak the form of drying or "~r~rking" meat and pac;k~ry or _:forir~:1 ~,.~ts c;i ~~4:l~t;t >rr salt. This method, while somewh-.~t effective fpm presar'ring me:~t anci i.zepirv~. it frr;-~n t~ecorning spoiled, had many r~rawbacks not the !east o' whict; was ~.hf:
~nc;crr;or::vir>r~
c3f large ar~~~ounts of salt rnto meat slated f':r human c:or~srampticn.
the use of additives pr preservatives such as w;trates and nirite~~ tr.~
r,~e,:~t_ is arrctht?r .o~:-anon technique for preserv:rg meat over tire I-!~~we~.~er, it,~~°~: ~ a w,~:~~
increasing evidence that such ac~~ditives r~nay have harr!~f'~~, even r.ar,:ir~,~c~:n;ic~:
drawbacks Th~:se drawbacks de;ract from the use of these c;orr}oounds a mechanisms for the long-term preservation of meat.
V~,'ith the introduction ;~f relabie means for refrigeration, i.e., ti~;e abiiityr to rr~aintair~ a, low temperature rcgar'~!less of tine external environrn.nt, ane long-tarrn prrse~vation of raw meat has been greatly enhanced army greatly irlcreaved thF
1~s cf~~ration of the preservation. Frequently, in modern meat process!ng. ar-~ima~:: :~r slaruc;htered at one place which .:an oe remote fronv tim: pri-~t cvf ~~a!a ;end the sventu~! consumer, and as much as a w~:ek can pass before the rrr~~ut is aca.~aly corsurr.ed. This lag between the slaughtering of the meat anc~ its ~~.cins!ln~
~tr:;n require:, that the meat be constantly maintained ur~der~ rrfrr~eratic~!~ ~r~
;:~rd:;~ to.
i5 presa.rve .1s quality and prevent its degradatior-~ over this tinny peric;cf.
f=or example, an animal ;a cow) may be slaughtered a,,rj cut ~r.t~:~ ha;v~::.
or quarters which are then forwarded tc~ a wholesaler or retailer v.~t~~-ertr~r~.r rr~:~y tar:
divined r;tc smalle~ cuts such as steaks or roasts. Ourr:rg the t-~~:~=a=:r ,~i tt:e rr.:~,at ?U lion; th=e slaughter house to the wholesaler or retailer, the me:a cnu4t.
:~m.:.vt ~ir~~:v:
frr~qv.~ently the meat is frozen in order to preserve its quaisty. ~ltter the rncat habrer~.
divi,:~ec~ ir5to cuts for sale to the ever-stual cunsurrser, it must alsUe r;~:~ir-~:air:f3d unv~e' constant refrigeration in order to l3resarve its quality. Under this distri;,c:tion 5uhe;n~:, r~ can tae from a few days to more than a week before ttr~? moat is pt.a~r:r~<3see.f ar:~~
'?:> c:oras:Jrr~ed. It, therefore: becomev; evident that this constant r.
qm~eme~t'ar °~.'e;y I~:,w jerTrpera'ures greatly contributes no the cost of meat.
,mother example of the c,stly disadvantages c>i very L~w tr~.raspu:~t~aion ~:zr-c!
storage temperatures car: be ~Ilustrated by practice of Icv~~ d's;ar~:e ~w~~E~r.~:c:~':r~
girl sh~prvent and distribution of fro<:en meat. Today, freezing is a star~ciard mrt'cod of distributing rrseat processed in once region of the world t~~ anotrer re=i;cr=
whE rw it iw~. t~>
beg c:(~nsUrrii-?d. nV6rSEj~S ~~t11~7T'r'Seflt C3f frCUZ:?rl meat fS :Both v~;r~j C':.''t.!'.,'' c:Tld ~a'I~~'~V~(:
rr;:at obtained by this method ~s rv~~ longer consrdere~to he "tre~;f~"
r~nc:ut. Tto t ~:;..
once a piece of meat has been troLen, by definition it i::> r~o longer cc~nsidor~d to t>~-'.~
"fre:~h." A n~ethocs of overseas transportation of meeit which rrraintain;~
the "freshne3s"
of nveat transported for distribution would be highly desirab'e. Sinca the c~n!y mete od availab~l~: for long cistarce overseas distribution of meat is by shippirrg frozen mr=,at, no method currently exists which would allow for the averSEas dtstr'ibUti~~~n Uf "freak,"
'9 unfrozen meat.
Transportation of slaughtered meat from tree sfaughterhon se to tir whcl r~':~I~.=;
or retailar requires the use of some form of refrigerated transportation: such at:
refrir~erated tractor-trailer trucks. This is a costly mode of trar~~~port~~ti.,n sir~~.:a it i r.Jqu;res specialized eauipment anc! extra mel to provide and m~~int~~~~
re'rige::~:ic~~r°~.
CaNnerally, two classes of -r~it~roorranisrrs are considereri tc~ t~ a unc:c:~iaul~: !-tie first class teeing aerobic and i.he second class being ~c~raerc~bic.. z '»:
ar;aeroi:i,-;
microanganisms include fa;~ultative (having both aerobic: and anaerc~~.~.c rne:abclic pathwaysj. the aerobic: rnicroorganisrns car;nct survive v'.~ithoc~r ox;~[=e;n wfvia: tf~:
t5 anaerobic microorganisms have a nor-oxygen requirernent for rr~ei~~holisrr~. It is it;~pcr~ant to note that iron is an es aerntial element for bottv, orc~anssrr~.s.
For both, growth of microorganisms spoil the meat by changing texturr:~, appearance and the development of bad odors. Tf;e paWvgenic. bac;tr ria ara th«~;e 2C in;er*,ering with the human host metabolism and iYlterf?re with nc;rrnal pi~ysioloc~y causing effects ranging from the rninor to tha lethal. the aerobic: Y~a.caeria are fil',ei-t~;~ arrive from outsida of the host organism. This is in contradistirv;aion frayn tha;
anaer,:,bir: fa~~.ultative microbe; which rnay be animal bor~;e because:
ri°,~~y r_ar~, crc~~rv ~r~
tf~e ;~osi devoid of fr::e oxyc~ev. However, neither bact~.:lr a are c~~:sir,abl_: t;~ f-.uvEe: o n ?; the rnaat. It is there?ore important to clevetop ways c->f eliminating ba~,r.~r;ai v.-;rc~~r~'~r h:.
it anaerobic or aerobic 4r, addition to preserving the overall quality arid fianess ;sf t;°;e rne~;t i ~~~
ccnsurvption, other methods have been derived which are airrsed ~.t preservir;c:; ttn:
:,r) color of fresh meat. That is, methods have been developed whic!~
rr,r,ir~ta'r!r:d fc:
example, the red color of fresh rrneat, such as beef.
Typicai examples of methods for treating raw meat to cr:~ser~~r~ the coi~r of ir:r;
n3eat ara disclosed in United States Patent Ncas. 3,459, ~ . ? tc:~ t<o~~f, et al., 4 ~t;'t ,.' ~.' and 4,Ut~9,983 both. to Nood, and 4,c>2~,835 and 3,930,U40 to ~Nooaruft et t~1_ AV of vhese ;patents disclose methods or processes for preserving or rnainta:riwg ;h.=: ccr:~r of meat such as beef, poultry or fish.
> Both of ttoe >-iaod references :~~sclc~se methods of ex;~o~~in;~ stn ;~~-,irr~a! prc~!~:ir~
source t:~ a rr~d;:cing agent and then an environment of cartoon rnorvoxicic:
~rv c:r~~e, t.
preserve the bright red cc!or o~ protein source. Additiorvaiiy, ttnc: ric=.~ca c~i a-.
references only treat siurrie5 of the protern ss:rurce as tr;is is required for :aturat~~.~rr t;y the carCcn rr,onoxide. The source is then mixed with the rc:rnainder c~' t'~e fooo~ ';tuff to prepare a moist dog Toad. Furtr;er, the references arv concerneo :only 4vitr~~ t!~:~
applicat~or~ of carbon mer~oxide in order to preserve the color of prac~uct an~i oth require subsequent processing, such as canning or heat 5teri;izat:o~ , in ~~.rr~r t;~
preserve the actual quality and freshness of the product. ~.ddition~~lly, the Ncoci 't?8;3 rFfera-rote discloses the addition of a suffrcie nt amount of microl~;c~lagica! a;~;;.i bacteriological inhibitors to further preserve the product.
Tne Woodruff et al. '835 reference discloses a process for rnairr:uir:in:~ a gcc.~c~
colcor and the freshness' meat by first exposing meat to «n atm~Jsphere with ~:;i sm~~l!
amo~nnt of r~xygen and then exposing the moat t;.s a modifies! atrrrosr~h~,:re cor~.ta~n~,~:~
?rJ a 5rrral', amount of carbon moncixide to ef;ect Ir!e cr~rwer ;ion e'' myogictiirv, t~.:, cart~r,x~,rnyogiotain. A third requir~:d Step is the maintc3nancc: ~.f ;i~e vneat pre ;or:
atmosphere of higher than 10°% carbon ioxide.
The Woodruff et al. 'U40 patent disclerses a proct~ss for storng or =.-;r~v,prrvci ':~5 fresh r~eat in a modified gaseous atmosphere. The proc~as re.quir~~s r~mir~~~tinr;p refrigerated meat in an artif;cial utmosph~~rs composed of oxygerr, carbon ~iioxid:~
arsd carbc,n monoxide as we!I as nitrogen. l tie carbon monoxide r'?wr be rornr~we:~
from the modified material after thc~ meat has been treated for at I~:a:.~:,':
c~r~e t~,-,,,~~.
'its the Woodruff at al. patents teach rnaintainir-rg the color ii, r~~e~?t oy traa:inc:, tiw meat witf-~ a mixture of gases including carbon monoxidt~. t hat i~, ~~rn trlt~~~r~r;nf a-t ct!.
pat~:nts teach chemical alteration of the surface of the rn~~ai t~;~
rr~air~°air-; the r~o!or c~f t~W meat arid utilize refrigeration !or meat preservatror°~
~'lcaditn,r~:i?i;; tip=: W~.~odrufs c.r a1. patents teach the treatment of meat using a gaseous rr-:ixturry ~;fi ~~rbor,~ rnc.>n,ox~c <, ~~xygan, carbon dioxiUe, and nitrogen. this mett-~od of k~eatrrm:~~,t re_ult~
ira the creation of a storage environment which t'ras low oxygen c«ncer~!~a'ic~n ar~~~
a. carbon dioxide concentration of approximatc;y ten percent. ~i-his type of g,~sec:;.rs mixture creaaes optima! growth conditions for the grGwth of microaerophil bactc-ria such as Neli:obaCter pylari and Camp_ylabacter jejuni which dre i'cnowr~, to ~:~e patr,ogervs which cause widespread gastroenteritis. The'JVoodr;~ff et al. method of trceating meat dyes maintain the color of fresh meat, however, the Woodruf; et ai. met~,od has tlaa drsadv~ntaga or accelerating bacterial contamination e; rhea; treated to,~
t'~a llVoodruff et al. method, thus shortening ttw storage life of thr: meat ~..reai~:~ ti,ert~by In The Koctr at ai. '177 patent discloses a cover use'u3 for treating rre:~r~ red wear with carbon monoxide ire r~rder to maintain the bright rF:;d volor c~f the meat.
Koch at al., teaches a cower comc~rised of two films wh~oh are sealed toget'vcr around the edges and which :onfines a quantity or carbon nnc~noxid~ c~~:
15 therr;:betvveen. E3oth film layers art: s~.~bstantially carbon monoxide i--npermeabl<:
when dry, f~~owever; ~rrhen the 'rlm is brought into contact ~r.'ah a fre::,hly c:ut sampla et tea meat, ',he rvosture m the meat vrets the film and transforrnra tr;e tiirn i,~t:~ a ~~:,-3rl~orl r-nenoxide pdrrneable structure. Tt~e carbon monoxide then contar:as the; meat sample thereby causing the meat to maintain its desired red color 'r U
The Australian Patent Gocument No. AU-A-t855:~,~'8a' tc~ 'i-amccyama ea al , discloses a method for maintaining and improving tha duality c~f meat by causing meat to contact and absorb carbon monoxide gas in a ~~rs~led c:o.-rtai~~er and turn rec;uiring removal ef the carbon monoxide gas from the c:~ntain~,r.
Pxamplifyind the cr~ticafity of the removal of the carbon monoxide gas from tt,e coo; ~t~3incr, the p:~.'.ent rec~ures that the carbon monoxide gas within the container be :~;:::~:e~7 ;nc~! disci~argc by rt~,eans of a pump.
Hereto, the treatment of raw meat with carton ,mono.;icJ~~ h~ui~eer;
t;it~:al:i 3Ca simp;y as a rr~ecoanism for preserving the color of tt-i a n,,:=~t <:~nd, nc.:r .~s n~ac:har~ism for the long-term preservation of a rneat s.~rnple ~~;ver tirn::
in ;_~, frr;~.h, non-frozen form.
'v~Jhite tt~e above-disclosed patents teach the exposure,: of raw rneat tc c~as mixtr.jres corvtaimng carbon rnc~n~:~xide or the exposure of meat slurriras to cart~c~rs monoxv,de in combination with other steps, they fail to teach a simpl<:
noefh~or. of exposirwg raw meat solely to carbon rraonox:de.
1n o-der to overcome the problems and deficisncses of ~,t;s prior art mErthoes, it i,s desirable that a method of preserving raw meat be tntroduved wrnich eliminat~a t>,~e cost arid associated problems with the prior an prose rvatiorn F<:chnic:pes.
z0 P.pp!icant has devel,~~ped a single step method f~~r prt.-ser~.~ir;c~ rreaw ~,y expo~:ir-,g raw meat tc an atmosphere cransisting essentiaity ~~f cart:~c~n monoxide anci, ~,r~en, storing th<: rneak in a sealed container_ tJnlike prior art preservation metrncis, nc: additior>al steps, compounds or additives are required ire order to proven: toe growtra of microbiological or bacteria! organisrn~~.
;;
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGtwS
According to the present inventioP~, a method for preseo;ing roaat by expesin~3 ruS'J raW3t t0 ctr', atmosphere C011S15tinc~ ~'SSE~ntla.!ly Of Ca:rJC7~'.
ri'~Orla:x:!dE= IS 5i10'~Vr'-i~l~E'a; tr-G'atPd aCCOrdlrlg t0 t~l-~~ present invention rrl3y r'fOt YEqt:lrv= any' fOnm C~t suosequent refrigeration under cert~air~ e:onditior,s and time ;.:_~:ri>tr:.v;~:t:; and can t;c:
siored for long periods of time foitowing treatment with ihEr ~:art~un r~v,~rwxide v,~ithr_~~.~:
~;rgrliii;.ar'at bacterial gro~nrtt~,, without fxee.~ing, anC' witt-;out a lc.lss ir7 m~~rat ctuaf~;ty E'~Isc promdad by tt~e present invention I:; a method of preventing mi~rc:~r~~n;nssrn cdrcwth ii;
?J rr'.i?ctt by P.XpOSing raw meet t0 3r' d'~T'~USprler~' COnSiStina 'r':S:~e;lt;~~.liy )~ C;c'~fl)t~>il m or oxide.
BRIEF flESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other advantages of the present invention will be rt~ad,ly ap~~reciated as tt~~.
~ic) same becomes better understood by reference to the fe~llowiru~ detailed des ~riptic,n when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wh~~reir~~
f=~1GURF 1 is a bar graph of the relationship between aero~Sic bacterial growth an a-f-resh meat sample stored at 22-30'G over timF~ Sri .;itner a :~O
tre~t~~;-i :nvircnment or ars air only environment, .. FIGURE 2a is a histogram illustrating preservation duration C~) preserved meats and air treated meat preserved at 5 ~-!- 3''C as determined by Ivlicroaerophil c~rowtll;
FIGURE 2b is a histogram illustrating preservation d~~ratior~, of C~) preserved 1t) meats and air treated meat presen,~ed at 5 -~I- 3"C as determined ry total viaole .erot~i,. bacterial growth;
FIGURF_ 3 is a graph illu:~trating spectral analysis of the amounts or hemoglobin in tt~e Mood of cats that consumed eivhe- CO heated ~r.t~at : ~r air treate~~' J ~ meat;
f=IGIJRrr 4 ~s a photagra~~h i!~ustratinc; meats, ti"v.e c~~>'vors c:f rrmeat Create:-; ~~viti-s {A) vacuum only, (B) N~. (C) air, and (D) CO;
.'U FIGt~R>= 5 is a photograph illustrating the color changa in n-~eat treated without C;O (left) and meat treated with CO (rvght);
FIGURE 6 is a photograph illustrating the interrsal color change of rweat treated without CO (left) and meat trea'ed with CO (right):
:: l FIGURE 7 is a photograph ifiustratinc~ the color chance: of d piecfe of f;e_~rC.:i treated meat stored at 5"C for three daVS;
FIGURE 8 is a photograph illustrating ttoe sarnca meat sar~~:~lA s',~c?wn in F
gt;rc:
30 7 stored with CW at 5°C for ten day,;
FIGURE 9 is a photograph illustrating a transvers=- cut of thff maat s~
E~r=I:~IF
sho~rvn in FIGURE 8 made at 7 crn from the edge sf~ow,r7g rvomogE~nc~us bric~tvt rHd colc;r;
FIGURE 10 is a photograph i',lustrating transverse c~,~ts c' t:.G tr:ated y(evt and frozen (rlgY~t~ meat samples alter twelve days of storage;
s FIGURE 11 is a pho:cgraph of the transverse cuts cf rneat shown in FIGUt=IF
1 C~ altar cooking;
FIGURE t:? is a photograph Illustrating transverse cut= e~ tt;e ~~.~~::k=~d m:'a' sarnple~ shown in FIGURE 1 . ;
FIGURf~ 1:3 is a photograph illustrating a section of CO treat~:r~ mr.~~: as sfo3wn in FIGURE 10, follo5rving exposure to «pen air 3t 5°C: for two weeks, at thE: er~d cf t-His t~Yvo week period, the r;~eat sample wG~s ground, a 2t~0 gram ''hamburger-like'' s;~m ~!e was cr.oked and released CC> way measured, ytopj prira~- to ~.;..~c~king.
(ta~:~tte:ri~~
1 > ic~4lowin , cooking;
I=I~~URE 14 is a graph showing toe grov~.~th of E coli on beef und~=.r a dtjfiro~cf atm«spheres t~avir~g either untreated or ~~.igh <,arbon monoxide atr~~ospheres;
F1GURF 15 is a graph showing the growtfl of E coli ors beef unc~::r a d:~fiae~i atmosphere having either untreated c.~r Io~N carbon monoxide atmosphere;
F-ICaLJRF_ 16 ,s a graph showing the growth of F'seudornonas flu~~resCenct~
oc'~
beEt under defined atmospheres having untreated atrncsphere, low r;arbon mono:cide or high carbon monoxide atmcsphare;
fVIGUR~ 17 is a graph ;showing ;he growth of Stapi~,ylococ~~:u_~ ~~ .ue.s c~r~; waf unr~eT a deiinaa atmospheres, the atmosphere either beli1~~ t;r~tr~,ate~::j cr urith rric;':
carbon monoxid=e;
'l c) FIGURE 18 is a graph showing the growth cf Listeria mor;oc;jtoY~=:!'rra on be~:f under a defined atmospheres, the atmc;sph~;re is beyng eitll~~r ~:ntr::atE>c~, I:.~w ca~b,~n monoxide, or high carbon monoxide:
FIGURE 19 is a graph showing the growth of Clostridium prefringE:ns on bes>.
finder defined atmospheres as having either untreated, low carbon mr_.nox:de or hich carbon monoxide atmospheres;
s F1GURE ?~ is a graph showing the growth of Salrnon~:=fla Tyonirr~iri~,~rrn on beef under defined atmospheres, either untreated, low carbon rT~onoxvd~:~r r~iah varb<~r~
monoxide atrnospheres;
FIGURE 21 is a graph showing the growtru of bisteria mc~noc;~,r~toeri, on i0 poultry r,nder dafir.ed atmospheres ::~f wither untreated or high czr':~ormncr~or:icle atrn~ospherv=s;
FIGURE 22 is a graph showing the growth of Pseudomonas fiuoresc.ence on poultry under defrned atmospheres of either untreated atmosphere or high car'r~c:n 15 monoxoe atmosphere; and FIGURE .'~3 is a graph showing the growth of clostridium pra;ringens orr poultry undE::r defined atmospheres of either untreated, low carbon monv:xide, or t~igc ;:«rbon monoxide atmosphera.
pt>
DE-1'AILED DESCRIPT10N OF THE PFtEFERR'ED f~MI~OI71MENT
Cenarally, the present inven'ion provides a method for preserving o:a~.t tw exposing raw moat, processed or riot, to an atmosphere: corrs~stir~g rsser~tially <af carbon rr~onoxide (C4l and, subsee_luently, storing the rnar3t irv a s~ea'ed cc~nr.: ir;r:r.
-the present invention also provides a method for preventing micrr_jor~~anisrn grov~~ttv rrv2at by exposing raw meat, processed or not, to are atm~.~sph_~re cons sung essentially of carbon monoxide, and sub~:equently stor;ng tt-~e meat: irr a sE:aled container.
3t1 Far the purposes of the present invention, the terra "rne:zt' is defir7;d to include a!1 types of fresh meat arid fl esh poultry suc~n as bEc:~, pco~k. vea I, i~.rr,b chicken, turkey, fish and rne like. Toe meat may be m the tc~cm <;f aarc:asses p~ir-~a':
(e.g., quarters, subprimals {e.g., top roundl, or retail cuts te.g : staarc~, qrour~~~, rr:e~.c and roasts] The process is also effective on whole anirnals inclr.rc~ing, t~;'v not 'imit~~d to, cattl:, chickens, and fish, Unlike yr;or art methods, the meat need n:~:':
be Icarr :;!
or otherwise pretreatea. "Fresrl merit" is defined as a meat article wr5i~~h t-ws :~~~t been frozen and subsecauently thawed before its sale or consurr-~pt;ori.
:>
By preserving, it is meant that the meat maintains a pleasing cof~~r~, does n;;t spoil and develop a rou4 smell, bacterial growth is signifrcar~tly inhi'rited or retarded, and rarnains completely pleasing, edible and consumab'rby r5urnan~; and ,~trv~r animals. Preservation is not only maintained on the surface of th:: mElat; but a's~
1i) throughout the entirety of the meat. That is the rneat is preserved tt~r:~ughout the thickness of the meat. "Pleasing color" irnplies that the c~:~ior of the meat, preseu,~ect by the method according tn the present inventic:>n, is such that it stirr,ulates t~nc~
apc~etite to consume the meat That is, the color and odor ;of the r~res=~rve~~
rneat ~ s such treat a consumer would be enticed by the meat and would warn to ia~risurr;e tf~:~~
I > meat. Again, meat color is also :reserved thioughout the thic~:r~e;;5 of thr~ rr;eat.
t'he ~errr "without freezing" is defined as storing the n-feat ~rvt~~:areir~
~li~.
temperature is kept between approximately -' to ,~0"(~. Ttre t=arrn '~,rvithc;a freezir;rv"
also excludes the use of any device or method for freezing the meat. :uo.~r devic;Fs iri::lucle, meohar,vcai or electrical refrigeration devices sucri as rrfric3erat;rs, free: ors, coolers, and chillers. ~T-his term also excludes the preservati«n ~* mr:~" ~~y fre~,zirig through storage on ice.
ThEdata included herewith have established that'the growth c_-,.t all ;-zathr,~rrer~,~~
25 v~ras inhibited when meat was treatt:d under a carbon r-non;sxicle :~c~rnta;~;ir~g atmrsphere. Further, the level of inhibition increases upon th=~ eic~.~ati~~r, o- ti a carbon monoxide content in t"re rnedvfied atmosphere. I-r;,;rc~fcre, by E~xposr:;g m~;~.
to an atmastJt;ere containing carbon r,~ono:<ide, not only ~s tim rrseat it_,elt ~:resc:rv~~a f~ut further, there is a.n inhibitor of pathotfen growth or~ tha: rrrc;at. l he i~~hi~itir,e W) enables the IifE: span of the meat to be increasr~d without sacr~ificiny any saT,,:ty it disturbing the meat to be consumers.
E:vxpos;ng raw rr:eat to, an atrr~os.phe;a consis'ing e;a:~enti~rl;y crf c.o~t~~~r, rT~onoxide is defined as bringing into intimate contact both carborv mor~~,xide gas arl:~
the meat being treated The atmosphere preferably cons,sts of carboro morvoxeje.
This tv~m also includes the com~leta conversion of myogi<:bin present in t'~c rr~~lat sample to carbaxymyoglobin and, the ccamplete conversion if rrryroglobin to c;arhcxymyogiobin/carboxyhemogiobin ii; fish. The meat is completely immerse d or saturated with carbon monoxide.
More specifically, a cross-section of rneat is corwpleteiy imnwrs~ecJ in or .aturatr_-d to its core ~rrith carb:~n monoxide from the expUSed suriace~~
through the>>
r.:r,tirt~ :,mss-section {thickness] including i~s c:ore region arid r~tain:~
t'-~a c:arbr.:r~
menoxidr;: ~.mtil tf'~e mea' is ~:;ooked Tf~us, as stated aboard::, tfw n;aat is ~re;~rrued t~nroughcut its thickness.
Carbon monoxide is inherently a very inert gas. Carbon monaxi<~e is reiat,vF:!y more inert than nitric oxide gas (NO] released from nitriteu which gave luec~n l3sr=d as 15 preservatives for meat for several hundreds years. Carbon monoxide is ~
w.rmai rretaLalite in the IJcdy. 1t is produced indigE:nously as a prud~,~ct of ~~err,e ~~atabc~lirr!
(,rn;~st!y the breakdovvn of hemoglobin). Carbon monoxide is iurtt-ne-c;;r.,~vertcd to carbon dioxide and is released from the body in treat fc3rrr~ R4r:Er~tl~~, I~
c5~~s been ;crrnc' that normal metabolism utilizes carbon moncixide as a neural Ic;gic;a!
:.0 m::ssenge~. {Baranaga, X9931 The high toxicity of carboy: mcno.x;zie qfynrrally ;sterns from its abilify to compete with c~xlc~en for binding to hemoglobin.
~'ractically ail of the carbon monoxide {over 99.9°~) taken up by meat ~,vili h~;
maintained as hemoglobin and myoglabin (Hbifv1b) hour:;.! forrr~5. Tt-r~:
distribc~'ion c:
?> carbon mOr~OXide In tl~e meat is a~;sur~~ed to be abo!~t h:~lf in each clabin tvE.:~:. l tai;;
r:stir°~,aticn is based on t"~e fact that mammalian muscles ;wont<~in approxin,< W:'y t~:v~r tt;irds of their giobins a~, hernoglouln and one-ttvird as rr,yc;gic;hiri, b.lt v~r'r~er; r~~,r rr;~!, becimies packed as neat, it looses a porti~~n of its t-sr:r?w:~lobirn-30 Both hemoglobin and myoglobin bind carbon m«noxide much more strong'y than oxygen. Native Fib/Mb contain iron and divalent cxidatic~n. state fFet') al.d only ire this torm are Hb/Mb capable of binding the gas liganda O?, IW 7, arid CO.
f ~-llc~wir r any change in tt-se iron oxidation state, HbIMb Sooa~~ thfair CC~ bind~rng a!~ility t1 Uenaturatiov of the proteins {c,.g. c~y treat) can aiso result in loss at (:;O
bin~-a;r~g potential lay wet! as other iigands}.
t-iblMb are established c:ataiyzers of the axidatiarv process in bioiogic:ai tissues. Under regular atmospheric conditions, ttoe Hbi~~tb m tre:;h rr~s:at, vr~;oict-~ are it their nraive form, exist in a O~ bound form, th<: so-called oxy-Hb!Nlb. «xy-~ibl''Y~b terv_is to undergo autooxidaticn to rnet-HblMb namely the cxidutiorl ~:~f tt~~: ~1"fl'~a1b dSVulent iron to Fe'"'~ can concomitaraly with the for--;atron cf superaxide anion cO;f by the reaction oxy-HbINIb {Fe'' . . . 0"r > Met Hb{Fe'') + O, The superoxide anion is unstable and further forms hydrogen perc~xi:-~~ (i 1-,0:~~
wh;ch together with HbIMb acts as a highly active percxidaticn ~yst4rn Pt~~r:-t-Ht;,'Ntt:
no longer binds any of the gas ligands including carbonn monoxide. (fir tha o:her f~lar,~d, tha Met-t-iblMb are catafyzers of axidations. Unlike tt~e case ~t c3xy:~=n be;and 1> to Hb/Mb, in a carbon rr onoxida bound form, KblMb are p-otected from autooxidatian. Therefore, to protect meats from autoaxidation, carbon;
mcnoxice is best ac:piied to tr2stn meat.
It is thought that the rnecrtanism for carbon ~;~onnxide prr;serwr~g ~: t rr7 pat is ?~) the mrach greater affinity of myoglobin for carbon mc~noxrdz than f~:r ~xygcer.
F:~llowing this mechanism, carbon morvaxide out-competes c~xygr:ri for b:ndu~g orn~;~
myoglobin molecules within the meat structure. E3y completely displacing axyg:~rt, t-~~:
micro-environment of the meat becorT~es mere anaerobic; and, thereicy, prtv~~~rns or inhibits the growth of aerobic microcrganisms, such as ~~::h~rrt;hia ~::oll, which ar~-' :?S responsible for spoilage ana degradation cf frash m4.:at and illnsss.
pna::rabia;
bacterial growth, such as .~~~croaerophila, is also inhnited when this rTmtt pd i utilized. This proposed mechanism of carbnrr rnonc.~xide a~ai:~n is rrercly illustraaive purposes anti in no ways should be construed as limiting.
3ti Ttve ability to inhibit or prevent the growth cf rnicroarganis,-i~~:~
al!aws nor tt~r:
extended storage of meat treate~S according to the present rnoti-;oe 'T'ttat i~:, r;eat~
treated according to the present irwention have a longer ~;tc;rage rite c,rra r.~:rrr; n i~u;~
viable ar~i edible in a non-contarrrinated form f or parioc~s lor~c,~er than th:-,s~ avail~bih using current preservation techrvique ~..
1r, the practice of the present invention, meat samples are pface~:i it ~ an :nclosure or container and flushed or exposed to carbon monoxide gas.
The process consists of t.wo stages:
(A', ''Meat packing" which refers to introducing the meat irrt;~r a ;~c,nf:ned atmosphere. "Packed meat" refers to meat wr";.h ryas ur7d~a a:~cne the meat packing part of th:~ proce~;s.
t;E3; "Meat preservation" whch involves maintaining the 'packed meat" urrtii it reaches the consrarn~r.
1>
Meat PacKin-g rt-~e container for treatment, storage, and transportati~r; of meat by tl~e.
method of the present invention can be constructed of various gas-impermeable ?() materia'~ such as plastic, rr~atal, ano other materials known in the art. -f he cont:~inrr can lJe equipped with both gas inlet and cutlet char~nefs wench can by opens j r_.o ailoSrv the nrrflux of gas (CC~j c~ closed in c,~.rder to render the c:cntainar seaie~~.
A suitable container would be capable of rrsaintaining a seal t:~ prever~j the '?:> esc:aK;e oaf carbon monoxide gas frcrn tine container. For exarnp:: , the r~~~r~tairrer r.;~r~
be a sealed room in whici~ large amounts of meat may be treated at a c~i~~~en tin~a, t~ ~r=:~
container .~an also be d smaller sea'able container or c:r~amt:rer.
Preferaialy, ttw container is of larger volume t>~~an the volume of meat being treated tr_~
allow Uor a greater volume ct r:arbcn monoxide gas to contact the rrwjt maniple.
ii 0 !r. a preferred embodiment ~f the irwention, meat samf~ir-~;; a~~3 :re~tec ar~ci stored within plastic bags corvstructed of a material which rs satc T:~.r th°:e st~-~rage c~f toc.~d products such as poiyvinylidene chloride. Preferably, the plastic 'tags v, iil i~.-~
constructed of a material that is imperrneable to the passage of gases, ti~aretf~r~,t~gl'r.
Thusly, the meat is maintained in the carbon monoxide atrrncsphere ~,vi~;!-~in tt-re oag (containPrj during storage.
After a piece of meat to be treated according to the method of ahe present :i inventn_~n is placed ire a su~tab.4e covtain~;r, the contain~::r is there !i!lr~d v~i;h thF ~.,0 gas. The additron of the CO gas can be accomplished in any suita.E~!e ~~~a~ir~er;
however, the preferred methods include first removing the gas atrrvospr~er2 vreer:k in the container (usually air) by usinra a vacuurn pump, as is ~ve',t krvovvn io tt~~: ur., to remove any gases present and tht container. The conta;r~er is than f~.l:~c!
with C~J
tti from a sou-ce such as a gas cylinder.
Tiw container is carvne cted to the CO containing cylinder and C;C) is ir~trodvaced. Input and output pressures are measured durirog the filf;nc~
process Tt~e inQut pressure is generally maintained within a range of anpruximut=:~iy 1.~:~
r~ ~:
15 atrnospi,eres. i~he preferred pressure is approximately 2.0 atmosf:n7~:res.
lJr~.~r:
reaching the preferred pressure m ttoe output, ttve gas flow is stoppe:j ar;c~
ex;:es:.
gas is allowed to escape until the pressure within tire conta;ner readies approximately ' .Q to 1.? atmospheres. 1-he preferred gas pressure in the container it ape~t~rcxirnately 1.1 atmospheres.
?U
During the gas filling operation, the ambient temt~E~rature of t'~r~:
surr~:,~lr~cting can be maintained between -2 td 3?''G.
The parameters that govern gas filling or exposure tir7~e vary ~!ependinc~ ors ~5 tV~a pressure of the gas input, the diroen:;ions of tote ir:aet an~.~
~~uti:.i ~a-~anr~:i~, :~r~ci tfu=: ciirrrer-!sions of tfve ccr~tair~er.
=or meat packing, expos~.~re of only the surfaces cef t'r~: meat tc~ ;;:riJOr:
monoxide is generally required however, for the purposes of meat V~reserl~ati:~n, ttrf~
30 gas filling time should be tong enougt-r to allow for a sutfic'ent arro:ant of CO gas io be completely absorbed ;throughout its thickness) into tike t7~eat urld~Jrc~r~ir c~
treatment. That is, enough GO gas is flushed through the container to ail~_aw~
tc~r tr':_=
complete penetration an;~ protection of thr~ r,~eat berng t~aated.
1~
the gas filling time generally ranges from approximately one to ttnrty mirvutE~s with tt~P preferred filling time being approximately five minutes. For the purpcoses :f this inver;tion, exposure tune is c;efir:ed as the gas filling trine %~,gam, it shoulc.f tie noted tY~at the length of exposure of the carbon monoxide to a meat sam~rle will vary depending on the size of the meat sarnpie and the weight cat the meat s~mp!e beir7g treated.
Treat is, a larger and fseavier meat sample wilt re~c:~uirs a iongc;r period of ex~;osure to the carbon monoxide- in order to achieve long-term preservation.
irs other tip worcjs, a larger meat sample will require a longer exposure to cari~on rnonoxi;:~ in order to properly preserve the meat sample without the freezing.
The temperature during the carbon monoxide exposure is preferably batwcaen --2 and 37°C and can vary depen:~ing on the temperature selected lo in order to i5 carr~,~ cut the rr.ethod.
Meat treated as previously described above ger~eraliy ~r.~r~tairm from. p to 10g°o by weight or volume of CO gas The preferred volttrrie of CC~ n the treated rneat 's appr:;ximately 30°,'~ of the weight of the r~;eat (e.c3 ;~0 re; fir tJ~:~ grar;-s cf ~0 treated meat).
Under the meat preservation method Qf tfve present .nverti~un, tree rnEat surface is initially contacted with the C;Q gas. Since the surface of tlna rr7eat is tr;e most prominent site for the presence of bacteria, the meat treated by the ~~
ethod cf tt~e present invention is immediately protected. further, while sealed ire the ucnt;iin::o, penetration of the CO gas continues until the entire meat mass has bt~en pbnetrat=e~i end, thereby, protected. rhitotal penetration allows for the ccmpltetE
s~;bslitut c~rr r.f t.~otrn hernogiobin and myogicbin by the carboxy forms of these cornpourvds a:i shown in the following examples. The total CO treatment of tlv:= rhea.!
tllro;tt~t-~~:~u' i,-3c) triickness also enables meat which ha:> been treatE:d according :o the:
cv~:ar~i;:
invention to maintain a pleasing color for extended perioCs of tirr,e aftE:r tlve r~,r":at '~n~:;
been removed from the pact<aging or container in whicto it was tren-e~~. Trr=m is, :3:~
shown in the following examples, meat treated according tc.~ i'~re presf~ni ir~~.en'icn.
can be transported, unpacked. and then rnaintained rn a fresh form fo; a furt'mr axtPnd~:d period of time without a loss c>t color or quality.
'f'~e above discussion provides a tactual basis for the use of t'ne present :a invention as a method of tang-term preservation of meat at different te!~iperatt.r_~s without freezing. ~'r~e exampias also derrronstrate the preservation of the meat att.>,r undergoing tt-~e treatment of the present invention. The methoas used v~r~th and tt~e utility of the present invention o.an be shown b~l the to!iowing examples.
it) EXAMPLES
FXc"lrrl !e 1 Zh~ ffect of CC) Ext~asure tin Time Dependent Cf~ar~~c~~s ir~_~a~at,!1o!or:
l Samples of fresh meat (30 grams of beef, veal, or turkey} treated with CC by the method of the present invention were incubated in a suitable c:ant~.ir-rer for thirty minutes at a terYtperature of 1 ~~3°C Control samples were trzat~~d idern~:i;.ally to ~~c~-treated meaty but were treated with air. -T'hE~ meat same!<:s 4vc~re rernove~a from the '1O container and were placed ors an open benchtap at t5~-3~C, or in an air exposed thermostatically controlled environrrEent at ~3'T'G. The color of tire air t:
e~,teci moats t,~rned brown gradually (within three hours at 3-i'°C and twelve hour:>
at 15~;3'C;, irvdic:ating non~fresh or spoiled meat. In contrast, the C: C7-treated rnaat sarrlplQs rna~ntained a wine-red ~: oiar for at. least ~~i hours following exr~osr.rre.
~' J
Exam 1e 2 Comparison of CU air~N~and vacuum treated rnaats 30 Fresh meat quarters (beef) were keF~t for six days ~a --:?°C~. TNm:
meat washer cuL into 30 gram pieces (4" X '?" X 0.1 ") and divided into tour gr:~up~~; and treated ~::;
follows: (A) vacuumed and (2-4} were introduced into gas tight containers b~~
n;crt; icof previc>tasly described above and filled at a pressure of 1.'1 attnc~~pheraes wish g ~a .~t .~.
voit~rne which was ten time (10x) the volume of the meat. l-he g~uses u:~e~.
werf~.
:W group b filled with CO, group B fined with N~, and group C filled Lvit!~~
air. A ~mticrv ro the samples was kept at 1-5~3"C and the rest at 7'C. After twenty-f;~ur hours at 1513"C; ancf ,6 hours at r°C time c.:epender~t changes in color ~frere ok:>served. The samples at group A (maintained solely under vacuum) were bro~~~nish-purple. l-he samples of group B (,N~ treated samples) ware brownish-red. The samples of ~;~rc;~~t~
C ;air treated samples) vr.~are brown. However, the co;or of the samples of GrcG1 Co (CC) treated) were unchanged remaining bright wine-red as sho~~~ro ~r~ F
ic;~~re ~.
Exam 1e 3 Color Changes in Large Meat Chunks:
1t) _- Time Dendency.I~uring Meat Pres~rvati~~n Qeef chunks of 0.5 -- ~ ~> Kg were turned into GO-treated rrre.~n sump"es by treatin ~ with a ~t70°io meat volume of gas according to ttne mathod ;~f the pr2se;~t invention. Control chunks frcrn the same source were treated identica',ly but vvitn ;.sir :~ insteac' of GO. A!i of the c:hun~cs ware kept Zit 4°G. The surface color of tt~e air treated meat became brown after three days. ~rhe meat chunks were cut trG~nsvers:'rr f~:~r obser,raticn of color changes. Color change propagated with tame in :.11 rYveats from the surface ievvards the center of the chunk and were brown itn air treated san~p!~s and wir~~e-red in CO-treated sarnpies. Pollcmng eigl~nteen clays of incubation, ttv~: air '~0 treated chunks were completely dark brawn. 1n the C<)-treated m=at, thE:
coon c:har~ge was 3-5 mrr from tha: Jurface after one and a h«If hctjrs; Twt.=,Ive hotar= p:~st t~eatroent a two cm ring of color change was observed- i hree ~~ays post tre;~t nerat, only five percent of the area of tte transverse secticn rr:rr~ain.~;~a urr:hangt:;,i. At~~r seven days post treatment the colcJr change was corrpleta.
F~ropagation of the cclor from the surface into thh inte~iar or the chunks fc~~
chunks kept under SJ~o meat volume of gas was somewhat sit~wer ~-s co;ropare:.i a~
those chunks maintained kept unc:fer 1 JO°o meat volume gas. it ~s ;rrportant ! : r~,ofi.a:
that care should be taken to precedent adherence of any of the meet: surface to tt-~c:
30 container.
Example 4 Co'or Changes in Large Meat Chunks:
Time Deperrdenc~After Removal_Frorn Coritair~Fr J
An cxi:snment similar to ti ~e previous e:~ample was perforrrre~ e;;c;s,pt th~a tree OO-treated meat chunks anU the air treated meat chunks were rerr.ove~a fnem th~:ir containers after ~1 daysTrue colors observed were ttre sarn~: a:~ in tf-~~-.previ<_~~~s example;. The chunks were left open to the atmosphere at 4'C. The color of the C()-i(~ treated wrs maintained for foureen days. At day fourteen, only the surfrtce {<l~mm 1~
deep) of the CO-treated meat was brown. The color of the air Treated me~:t remain~:d dark brown throughout as shown in Figures 5 and 6.
example 5 Comparison of Bacterial Growth LJnder Air, CO and N~Atrr2psph~_res Meat samples weighing 4.00+-r).18 grams, were treated by ffushina wiitv eit-~~r a~r, CO, or v2. After twenty-four hours of storage at room tewperature {~ ~-~-'~°C) 4 x.cr;
?0 of the treated meat samples was soaked in sterile O.ISM smfium carlorn~=:
(t rW pt~r 2 gra~ns of treated meat) for ninety rr~inutes to extract any bacteria pr~.~sent on ti~,°
surface of individual samp4es. Aliquots of serial difutions of tf~e extracts were pl~~te;~
onto non-selectme agar plates (E3actoagar, Difco) and on Dram r~egaive se!ei:r.ivE:
plates (MacConkey, Difcoj. Ali the plates were incubated c~.rer nig'nt at .:3 i'~C; to a.!lo,r~
2~ bacterial growth. Bacterial colony counts per gram of meat {mean + St)) era summarized in Table 1.
TABLE '!
3h No of caior;e Gas in Atmos here Grown_on bactoa a_r _ caram r~:Cativ~~=
Air { 1 42+9.3)x1 C) ~ ~{2. i 4~1 I:?)x~
N~ (1.o3~-O.3)xl 0b (.J.46 ~ J.25?xl t)h CO (0 29~0,~~1 ) x1 ~~' C~.(~2i-t) t)l )x1 [)°~
Fxamtale 6 1~
TcxicitY and Edibility of CC-treated Meat Samples of GO treated meat of approximately 30 grams in weight or grourrd meat samples were stored for up to saven days at a temperature bet~Neen ~4 to 10r S.
> Samples of the (:O treated meat were given tc~ twelve starved cats (4k:g per cat).
lJnder these conditions, the meat samples were immediately consumf:d. ~~o m I-effects were obsarved in any o' tha anlrma!s vrithin 48 hours post CanJum~~ticn.
Additionally, four dogs each of which weighing apprcxirnately fiftet~n kilograms lc: was offered 100 to 150 gram sample of GO preserved meat. T'he s~t~nplt~, v~;r:re e~ons~arnad by the dogs and no mat-e>'tects were observed ir-~ army dog witE~2in ~1S tno.~r::
after car,,surr~ption.
Cats were fed fresh GO treated meat (250 grams per day per cat for <:ne t~ ~.veek' A control group LYaS fed rr~eat srom the Same Source wh!ch twas trected identically but with air instaad of COThe animals were continuously rnonitorec by animal-tenders and showed regular behavior. The animals were found heaitvy f::y a t~cuse veterinarian. At the end of th . experiment, a blood sample was dra~,rvn frori at!
the animals and the red blood cells were separated. Tiw state of h~smoglak~ir, ~n 2O these Malls was analyzed spectrophotometricalty as shown in Figure .:s.
f=tom the spectra, it was found that the hemoglobin of both groups was ccar-r°~N!e:-ly In ti-;t1 o:x,~-hemoglobin form indicating no CO in the blood of the anirr.als fed C:O-trr:ated meat.
Ex~'e 7 Z.-i Determination of Shetf-Life Extension by Bactaria! tyount as t_imited by International Ccntrc;i Standardsv Preservation at Room_Tem~e!ratures.
General Methods:
Meat packing: F=reshiy slaughtered meat (beef! chunks of u.5-1.5 Kg w~~~ir:
:,~i into ~Scm' pieces, 0.'v-1.0 cm width {12-~Q grams). Four Samples wg~'e irnrnc:ciatF_~!y submitted to bacterial count (as ~~iescribed below). The rest of the sampf.~s wUre treated with CO according to the method of the present ;nventior~ 'T'fnl gas E:~rr ssurr '35 was 1 .1 atmospheres and the volume of gas wa s Pqua1 to ( 100':-:0 of tha may:
weight. Ttoe gas content wa:~ eithEer air or 100°~p CO. The samples wera prer~~:.n~eci within a predetermined temperature range. Bacterial growth was measured at tinm ir,,tervals deterrr7~ned according to the temperature ef presarvaticr5 Evaluation Of Hemo4!obin And Mvo4lobin Oxidation State In CU Treated fyleats;
Tile quality of the CO-treated merits depends ors tt~c amount of ~Ji~afs~n, fractions converted to C: C? bound forms and their location. 1-he location ,s irnportar7t since bacterial growth starts on the surface of the CO-treated rnaats as does c~C~
penetration Assessment of the CC7 bound myoglobin and f'nemog!obin in the f~Q-Ip treated meats was carried aut usirsg two parameters_ (aj measurema:nts of ;he eir~,umterence width o' zcr!es whii;h ur7dErwent visrb!e c«!or chancae d~~e t;_; ~;,U
?cindinc~ {CO-treated meats were successivE~fy cut transversely and the depth of the color-changed zone was measured with a ruler) and {bj assessmernt of tt~e CC
bound fraction of hemoglobin and rr~yoglobin in CO-treated samples.
Procedure: Samples of the CO-treated meats {1 to 5 c]rarllsj v~er~:
homogenized in an equal volume of phosphate buffer (0.1 M, pH 7.4j t:~ extract 170th r~emoglobin and myoglobin. The extract wa.s centrifuged at ~C~,~tl~ g for tt~r~ rr~in:.te >.
The supernatant was isolated and its absorption spectrunl was me~:~~u.:~e:~cJa r~, tt~~~; 4UG
~r~ to 700nm range. From the position of the absorption pea~5 and their re!ati~~e hei~ht:~
the fraction of CO bound glot~ins way calculated.
Bacterial growth measurement was made according to int~~rnatic~nal ~,i~i-:dard~;
and ca«ied o~..lt by a ISO JOOO,~fEG Guide 25 licensed bacterioiccic a!
!abor~a~wy. ,~s bacterial grov~rth is mostly on the meat surfa~~e, the routvne contamination tr:st . at goverrmanta! laboratories relate to bacterial growth do a standard minima!
area of ?5cm'. The bacterial growth is then expressed as the nunnber of ba~aeria per cm' l"he most stringent standards allow a gro~nrth of up to 5x10'' (~. ~ fn fog scale) br:~;tera:.
cer cm' while the least strict ones consider a growth ofi up tc~ ~ xu 0' {'7.0 in log ~ ca!e:;
30 roan-contaminated.
Ttve procedure f:rotails treating d 2~ cm surface ara:a sarrv~rie of ttne rnrrt vv'it-a rr~l of aqueous solution. The bacterial ;~onter~t rs intrcd~.~cE~d ir:t~~
11o:, aofut.c r: :mir;
a stomacher apparatus (Seward Lab U.K.). This suspension is tilers ;:lut-a ;r, a ty~.
~a fold series up to 10~y in 0.1 M prvosphate buffer, pH 7Ø pne rnl of each di?~~t?on l applierJ-to each of three types of E70rnm growing plates: (a} c:ontain~ng plate ccu:r't agar (PC.A, Difcc} incubated at 33°G~U 2 for 48 hours to andble total viaf~ie ar:rob;c count, (b; containing SPS agar !D~fco) d!lcwing ~ac~stridium grc7wth, and (o}
containing the same medium as a (a) allowing fTlvCfD~~rOphllE growth. -i-ype (b) and (c) piate:s were confined within sealed anaerobic ;are supplied with gas generating l-;its (dxoid, tJ.K.) and incubated for twenty four hours at 35°C. Bacterial cofcnies (up to 20~J per plate; were ccunted using a CUfOny counter.
1~~ According to international health standards, the maxirrval i~3ctGria!
grov~th allowed for non-contaminated meat is 1x10'/crn2 total viable aerobic;
t~ac;eria and 1x104/cml ef microaarophils. The shelf life of a meat in a non-cc~nta,nina i;t-:~d .~crm eras determined by tY;e duration until the above defined bacteria levels, v,~c~re reacr,eca "~reservaticn duratiUn"j.
1:p ~t"wenty experiments were carried out as follows: meats ~sampi~s v,~~.:~;r~
preserved at 5~:~-3.5°G and bacterial counts were carried out at interval<_; of fo.~r c~i.~y~,, Trw iengtr; at "preservakien duration" in ti~ese experiments (expressed aC
rr~e~zn ~:5F1 SNere fc~r microaerophif5: 8.722.1 days fur air treated samp'.es and 18.:3 3.?
.' fc:r ?u CO-treated sarnpies (see Figure 2a;~; by the criteria cf tota' viable aerobic bacteria ~ 1.?3~-1.1 1 days for air treated meat samples and 23 12~-2.10 fcr GC)-treated carat samples (see Figure 2b}.
This data Shows that the meat preservation method of tha: prNSant u,vt nt~c,r~
?5 su~:ceeded in extending the shelf fife mere than two fold.
Exam~lH ~i DeterminatiGn of Meat Shelf-life Extension by E3acterial (~c~~.:nt a:, 1_i;roit::c~ ;~y ;tt 4nternational Ccntrot Standards:
Preservation at Hidh l~oorr~ Tr~moerature As in the previous example, rneat :~arnples were prescrv~ri at l6~-4~C%. J~.~e ;
the high temperature which accel~.rates bacterial growth, !~act,~r;al co~~lr~t 3.ws _~ deiermir~ed at five hour intervals. Four experiments were carried out and tht~ ienrf tn of "presiyrvation duration" in _khese experiments (expressed as mean ASE=) were. ~y the 4rireria of total viable aerobic bacteria 13.1 hours for air treated samples a~ld :3C~1 hours for C;O-treated samples !see Figure 11. By tt~e microaerwphils count criteria: 9.5-r~-0.9 hours for air trea'ad samples and ~3.5-~0.6 h,on,~s for CO-treated samples.
example 9 Inhibition Of toad Odor Development In CO Treated ~~leats In a!1 meets preserved as in examples 1 through 8, ;t was foun~-I that by the time o' detection of bad odors if". air preserved meaks, no :;imi,ar odor ~nras d=:~tF=cteu in the CO-treated meats. This finairg indicates that the arrest of rr~~at-s;poilagL ~u,~:..
achieved by the meat preservation rrlethod of the present irwen>ion .
Consstentf~ . in I~ ail preserved meat samples bad odor was detectable in samples which showed nigh c:our7t of bacteria. Additionally, by t>',e time load odor was c~etec;able by the average human nose; the total viable aerobic court exceeded 1, t)g colonies~'<;m~, a v;~lue whv,ch exceeds that allowed f Car nor-3-contarrlinated meats ('~0~
colonies~cm'j ~-vus, odor is a less sensitive indicator of meat spoilage than t~ac!eriaf courst.
Ho:~:r:vr~r, odor is valuably because it can be use~:~ by most people including the r~~e~~t cor;surners.
Table 2 represents the "preservation duration" under various ror~ditior~s at which GO-treated meat retained pleasing odors while air presc:rve;i rr.eat srr~eil,~~-f 2_s bar.iiy.
TABLI~ 2 hype Size -( empHrature rangePre:;ervatir~rv of of curation meat -___ ~__~WrJ_ation_ , G _!_ ,::._ __~_. _ 'fly !~:~
~ s __...__ Beef Slices 2-9 ''3 ~p_30 .., ' Beef Ghunks ''-0 13 Chunks 14-17 '.
Veal ;~!~,ces22-30 T tlrkeySIIC~-~'S~~-3Q :-s t~
2~
Example ? 0 -CO D~~,ffusion From I'~leat Su~f2ce into the Core During the Preslrv~~iion.
Meat samples were sealed in plastic bags under 100 ~o CU at a pressure of about 1.1 atmosphere. GO volume was 30 ~- 20°% of tire meat volume. the bags were kept at 5°(:. Figures ir-9 derncnstrate a typical experiment in which meat was treated 2~ hours after sla~s~ghter. A sample of calf meat weigising 18 pouvds (about 8 Kg) was cut into two nine pound pieces raving maxfmt.rm length of 3C~ cm arrr' maximum width of 20 crn. One of these samples was kept frozen at -iBv'C wh~Ie ltve other was preserved in CO at 5°C. After three days, the bag was cpent:d to release the unbcur;d CO and the meat was left in the open air for half an hour. The meat sample was cut transversally at about one third of its length (7 cm frcrr~
orle ecacae) About 30°f~- of the meat radius {from surface to core) charged in color from darito bright red 'see Figure I). Because any C;O which reaches Hb/tvlb bird qt;ickly, the is change m meat color serves as a mf.~asure of the CO diffusion rate.
The meat samples were reas ~embled and repacked with CU Following .sEVe-~
additional days at 5~C, the meat sarnptes was ague unpacked anti cut transver:~aaly once ire tha middle of the sample, about 1 'pcm from the edge !Sf~Owr-i I:n l igure~ ~ l, ?(t and once closer to the end of the sample, at about give tloird of t'r.e s;..rn~,le's le~g'rn (stnovvro .n Flgure 9). As shown in th~a transverse cut in Figure 8, th.
rnt:t~t 4vas airnc5t completely bricght red except for a srnali dark red area shown by are arrc~fr.
This indicates a nearly complete diffusion or Saturation of the CO from the ;~ur!a~.,e tc5 tt~e core of the meat samp(eThe cut at ane third of the sarnpie's ,er.gth sr~cw:~
ttvat in '?5 this tore, oxy--Hbll~lb were completely converted to their carc~ornor~c~7cy forms r~s sho~~rn in Figure 9. The meat samp,es werE: reassembled and kept at ;3°G under ~:O
for an additional two days to <:nsure complete cormersior~ cf flbl~"tj t~, thr carbomonoxy forms. After 12 days order CO at ~"C, th-_--. color =,f a Crlladle sw;pl~
(transverse cut) differed dramatically from that ofi the frozen sample (see ~=ig~ur;: 1~), .3() indicating that oxy-forms of HbiMb were preserved in the frozen rrreat sanspl;: (f ~igura 9; right) white carbomonoxy forms prevailed in the CU treated meat rFlgr~re 1 C~; I~:Ft l.
Exam .e 11_ A earance of the Cooked Meats .5 Fram the 12 day-ofd, frozen and CO treated meats fst~own in F=igrire 101, W
;m in width pieces were cut transvErsally. Each piece was cooked in 10C> ml distilled water in a covered pot on a low flar~ne for n2D minutes. At the end of the coekng yeriod, all of the water had evaporated. The appearance of the cooked rneat pieces is shown ire Figure 1 1. f hey were similar Pxc:ept for some browning of the surfare~ of 1t? the CO treated meat due to complete water loss in tt~e rrreat.
To reveal the meat irterfor, tt~e two pieces were cut transversally. A srr~a!I
:est by ten different people assured that p~ecea smelled alik- f~avir~g a typical "co~:;a meat smell The transverse sections are seen in Figure 12 anti were vf~ry s!rri;' r in appearance. This experirnent demonstrat~a the loss of the bourad C:t~ during t'1e cooking process (heating) vvhicr~ leads to protein denaturatlOr, and fa.rr~e degradation.
?.Q
~xamole 12 Measurements of CO Release in the Process of Cookirsg A. Experimental procedure:
?j All measurements of C;O release in the process of cooking 4VErE? carried c,u~ in a ~'.~ liter sealed regular pressure pot ("pressure cooker'"1 to wrvcil mancmeterlthermcmeter was inserted to measure the ternperature and pre=sur:
during cooking. The pot was also equipped with a controlled outlet (v,~i~ej.
To ewm:it corrrplete sealing the pot lid wasalso smeared with a layer of ;-~ic~r~
vacouno rre.~~r~:r 30 prior to locking the pot. The pot was then heated by cooking gas for a iew rr; r rotes until r2aohing a pressure of 7.5 atrnosPhr~res and a temperature of a?35°F y1 U3'C;
At this stage the pot was transferred to an electric heater for further <;ookir;ci k;epirr~~l tree pressure within the pot at 1.7~-~.7 atmospheres arid the temperature a1 ~11.",.:
1~°C. Gaoking time varied among experiments within the tune range of raguiar 3~ domestic cooking, namely 00-140 minutes. The pot was allowe~~ lo c.oc>I
~_mt,1 reaching room temperature and then was connected via the valve to a C;4 mon-tor.
-f he Cfl level in the pot atmosphere was expressed in PPM
The measurA GO lave! in PPB(m) was translated and exaressed as C:J
> PPM(c) released from 2 Kg of cooked meat (a far~ily meal size) into a sEla~ed ro~~m of 3.0 sauare rneters (kitchen size dimensions). Considering tt;e volume ~f one rroo!e of gas at room temperature as ?2 4 liters, the expected CJ ;evei wav calc:
elated ~:~=:
PPM(c) - 0.074. PPtv1(m)!X
1C) Where: PPrr1(c) -~ calculated PF'M
PPM(m) _ measured PPM;
X _. meat weighs in grams.
6. Safety in cooking the CO treated meat:
200-G50 gram meat samples {either in one piece or ground) were- treatE:d ~~ith GO and stored within a confined GO atmosphere for 14 days at 5°C. The noe;3t.s were cooked within 30 minutes of removal from the CO Qackaging bags. The results (,expressed as explained above; are summarized in -rablE~ 3. As can Le seen, ve 2O average PPM (c) level given as Mean + :~.D. {N) was 0.056 _j- o.02r3 (10).
!« al', experiments, less than 0.1 PPM of ('.:4 was released from ~ Kg cooked ,neat ir~!o ;ha hermetically closed room. Since the TLV for CO is 25 PPM, it can be seen that the released CO level from the cooked meat (2Kg) in our experimar,ts, ~~~«s far be ow that safety limit. In fact it cs low enough not to a',arm a domestic CC?
e~etectc:r ( i0c~
25 PPAA for 90 minutes in a regular room size). Thus. under uur E~xperime~~tai cendit~.nns, the consumer is not exposed to danger. Moreover, treated meat;
f.;c~ul;~
be removed from their CO packing bags and maintained for at least 1=i days in th;:
open air at 5°C Lvithout any risk of CU release prior to cooking.
3t) No statistically significant test analysis could be made taecau:~~~ the experimental conditions were incomparable (chosen to cover various cooing conditions). However, there is a tread showing that the level of released C~J
is invr~rsely correlated w!th the post-slaughter period unti': C;(~ treatment c~egan. -t-nu~, the sooner {closer to slaughtering) tree meat was tre2teij, the higher tree GC) lev ci 2:i (see the declining order in items 1-4 a ground rrreat in Table 3). No'J~=
t;rnat (~~7 ~~iease I :vel reflects the CU bound IeVei in the meat. These findings ~grec-~Nith a :.:low autooxidatioo of HbiMb in rneats exposed to air prior to CO packir:ct, resuairg i,~ formation of ;~,,et-HbiMb which can no longer bind CQ. therefore, upo,~;
packi~v~, less CC.? will be bound and oonsequer~tly less CO will be releasc;d laser u~:ur~ cooking.
The data from the experiments (items 6-8a in Table 3) suggest that up to a period ~~t two days; post-slaughter, CO release level was similar.
From itEms 8a-8c {Tabl:.~ t), tNherein the portions of the same t:.',Q treated 1!~ sample were removed from the CO packing bag and exposed to open a.ir for varicfus periods, it appears that the CO was :-nain;ained withir; the samples for at least three days.
Fxam~e _13 Release of CO r>y Cookinct freshly drawn human blood was usecl. -f'he red cells w're w.~ashr~d and fy~;eci ire r~ caypotornc puffer. The mixture was centrifuged tea separate c~,itoa~~l frrm ?U membranes. The concentration of hemoglobin m the solution wa~> rneas~rrecl spe:arophotcmetrical'y and wa:~ found to be 16.~ rnM. The solution wa.~ sealed i7 a oeaker and CQ was gently flushed above tire solutioro surface white ;~i:irring tsar 3U
min~.~tes. A tew grains of dithionite-- was addEld to consume any residual oxygen. ~fhe color c~f the solution turned bright red typical of carbornonoxy Mb. The solutio,r ~.Na~, '_>5 then left while stirring (for 15 minute.y to the open air to released dissolved CO- 'The:
t-ib was identified spectr ophotometrically cis carbomonoxy Hb. Th~:~
hemogpobin sclutian was cooked exactly as the meat and the amount cf CCn in t',~e nit atrnosphere ~rvas measured. From the concentration of hemoglobin (e~tci~
tu:~r,~~e rro!ecule binds one CO molecule) the arnour7t of CO molecules was c:a,cul~-~ted it tire 3« solution From this amount and the pot volume, the expected F'F'~Yi Icwel of tctaliy di:~so~~iated CO was caicufated. As in the prccedure of cooked rr~r,;rts tfr~~
gas to°v~~~i ire the pot was noeasured by the CO rr3onitor. -I"he ratio of measured to naic!Uate~: CO
level turrned out to be 1.0~ ir.dicat~ng that, within experimer~,tci :error, ail CCO w:~s indeed released from the f-~b by c;octt:ing.
TAB1_E ~: CO RE~EaSE FROM COCKED MEA r~S
Item ~ Meat form Post slaughter period to ~ ~~ PPM(c) c~f~CU j Na. _~treatnaent (da s) l_ _ _.._. _ _~_ _ .
Ground 8 ~ ~_~__.~__r _ O.t)00~.._~.__ t 3~ Ground ~,~_. ~____.~._~___~._~__ _ ~.03'~ _.__..______ _~ G yo a n d -~ _:10 _ __ _ __. _. __ r. ~._. ___ ~- ~ . 0 . 0 ~ 3 _.___~_ i..~~~_ ~. I~~nd - ~ (1't~ ~- __, ~ ~.Os3 __~ 1 6~ ~_~. ' Chunk ~ ~ r ~__ ____ _s_.. ._.._~_~?.~'~3 _~,'_ Chunk ~ 0 C~.~0~:3 Chink _ . ~.r.-f.._ .........-_..~,T___.._y _..~.__ .~. ~~. _ ... .... . _,__~a i Ot'L__.._ Chunk ~ ~ 1 ~' . ~._ _ _,. ___. ~ ~)_Q °'"_~
A~1 meats ;?00-~p0 gr) were treated with CO and we~~: stored in i C) atmosphere fior t 4 days at ci°C. t he meats were ec>oked within 30 rr~ir~utes a ter exposure to air. {') refers to exposure period at S°C (irv dais) in the open air foilc~swir~~y removal from CO packaging bags. Items 8a-c are sub-chunks which ware left in the open air for different time periods. Average PPM(c) = D.O~c~ ~ G.026 1fl EXAMPLE 14 Studies were carried out comparing growth of inoculated pathogenic bacteria on freh meat under three atmospheres. Air and twu GQ cuntaEniocf ~r~cci~fi::~
atmospheres: high CO (9~-ti)0°ra) and !ow (10°..%) CO. In low LG
MP, UCH wa.~:
15 r~:placed by an inert gas, nitrogen. Note that in most experiments th;: CU
r.~ntre;~tec) control was tyke same for both modified atmospheres. Experman':~ ~w'th ~' c~Y~h ~r~rr carried out on different meat controls.
Conclusions ?() the data indicate treat none of the anaerabiclfacultative patt~mcens ~3~:c:ii:?~-i under GC? atmospheres could grow betty: r thaw when packed under air or rnitr,~gK:rn In contrast, growth of all pathogeons wa:; inhibited under CU containing atmr:,s ahrzrr;
and the level of inhibition was s'ronger upon elevation of CO coraer~t n tr'~e rr~cdifiecf z~i atmosphere.
As shown in Pigures14-23, the methods of the present inventic.n ir~hib~t ahr growth of E coli. Pseuc~omonas Staphylococcus auras Listeria mor ocytoger; es, clostridium prefringens Salmonella t-yphimirmm. This effe!~t was sPvowrv in botE~~ b»vf and in poultry, thus showing that this effect is not limited to use in the ivE~ef ind;~sry, a but can instead be used in oth?r similar industries wherein ttoe grow,~,to of mi~4rc~ is uncfesirabie.
-i he invention has been de:.crit~ed in an illustrative manna=r, arn~ it is to be understood that the terminology which has keen used is intended t,~ bt; in the nature lfl of words cf description rather than of !irnitatior~.
Obviously, many modifications and variations of tha present .rwention ,xr::.~
possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understo~~~d tha" within the scot3e of the appended claims, ;f~e invention may be practiced otherwise ttoao a:~
1 ~ specifically described a? 8 REFERENCES CITED
Baranaga, Carton Monoxide: KiFle~ to E3 rain Messenger in ~~ne Step", Sci~;n~e, ~' ,), 3CJ9 (1993).
~9
TABLE '!
3h No of caior;e Gas in Atmos here Grown_on bactoa a_r _ caram r~:Cativ~~=
Air { 1 42+9.3)x1 C) ~ ~{2. i 4~1 I:?)x~
N~ (1.o3~-O.3)xl 0b (.J.46 ~ J.25?xl t)h CO (0 29~0,~~1 ) x1 ~~' C~.(~2i-t) t)l )x1 [)°~
Fxamtale 6 1~
TcxicitY and Edibility of CC-treated Meat Samples of GO treated meat of approximately 30 grams in weight or grourrd meat samples were stored for up to saven days at a temperature bet~Neen ~4 to 10r S.
> Samples of the (:O treated meat were given tc~ twelve starved cats (4k:g per cat).
lJnder these conditions, the meat samples were immediately consumf:d. ~~o m I-effects were obsarved in any o' tha anlrma!s vrithin 48 hours post CanJum~~ticn.
Additionally, four dogs each of which weighing apprcxirnately fiftet~n kilograms lc: was offered 100 to 150 gram sample of GO preserved meat. T'he s~t~nplt~, v~;r:re e~ons~arnad by the dogs and no mat-e>'tects were observed ir-~ army dog witE~2in ~1S tno.~r::
after car,,surr~ption.
Cats were fed fresh GO treated meat (250 grams per day per cat for <:ne t~ ~.veek' A control group LYaS fed rr~eat srom the Same Source wh!ch twas trected identically but with air instaad of COThe animals were continuously rnonitorec by animal-tenders and showed regular behavior. The animals were found heaitvy f::y a t~cuse veterinarian. At the end of th . experiment, a blood sample was dra~,rvn frori at!
the animals and the red blood cells were separated. Tiw state of h~smoglak~ir, ~n 2O these Malls was analyzed spectrophotometricalty as shown in Figure .:s.
f=tom the spectra, it was found that the hemoglobin of both groups was ccar-r°~N!e:-ly In ti-;t1 o:x,~-hemoglobin form indicating no CO in the blood of the anirr.als fed C:O-trr:ated meat.
Ex~'e 7 Z.-i Determination of Shetf-Life Extension by Bactaria! tyount as t_imited by International Ccntrc;i Standardsv Preservation at Room_Tem~e!ratures.
General Methods:
Meat packing: F=reshiy slaughtered meat (beef! chunks of u.5-1.5 Kg w~~~ir:
:,~i into ~Scm' pieces, 0.'v-1.0 cm width {12-~Q grams). Four Samples wg~'e irnrnc:ciatF_~!y submitted to bacterial count (as ~~iescribed below). The rest of the sampf.~s wUre treated with CO according to the method of the present ;nventior~ 'T'fnl gas E:~rr ssurr '35 was 1 .1 atmospheres and the volume of gas wa s Pqua1 to ( 100':-:0 of tha may:
weight. Ttoe gas content wa:~ eithEer air or 100°~p CO. The samples wera prer~~:.n~eci within a predetermined temperature range. Bacterial growth was measured at tinm ir,,tervals deterrr7~ned according to the temperature ef presarvaticr5 Evaluation Of Hemo4!obin And Mvo4lobin Oxidation State In CU Treated fyleats;
Tile quality of the CO-treated merits depends ors tt~c amount of ~Ji~afs~n, fractions converted to C: C? bound forms and their location. 1-he location ,s irnportar7t since bacterial growth starts on the surface of the CO-treated rnaats as does c~C~
penetration Assessment of the CC7 bound myoglobin and f'nemog!obin in the f~Q-Ip treated meats was carried aut usirsg two parameters_ (aj measurema:nts of ;he eir~,umterence width o' zcr!es whii;h ur7dErwent visrb!e c«!or chancae d~~e t;_; ~;,U
?cindinc~ {CO-treated meats were successivE~fy cut transversely and the depth of the color-changed zone was measured with a ruler) and {bj assessmernt of tt~e CC
bound fraction of hemoglobin and rr~yoglobin in CO-treated samples.
Procedure: Samples of the CO-treated meats {1 to 5 c]rarllsj v~er~:
homogenized in an equal volume of phosphate buffer (0.1 M, pH 7.4j t:~ extract 170th r~emoglobin and myoglobin. The extract wa.s centrifuged at ~C~,~tl~ g for tt~r~ rr~in:.te >.
The supernatant was isolated and its absorption spectrunl was me~:~~u.:~e:~cJa r~, tt~~~; 4UG
~r~ to 700nm range. From the position of the absorption pea~5 and their re!ati~~e hei~ht:~
the fraction of CO bound glot~ins way calculated.
Bacterial growth measurement was made according to int~~rnatic~nal ~,i~i-:dard~;
and ca«ied o~..lt by a ISO JOOO,~fEG Guide 25 licensed bacterioiccic a!
!abor~a~wy. ,~s bacterial grov~rth is mostly on the meat surfa~~e, the routvne contamination tr:st . at goverrmanta! laboratories relate to bacterial growth do a standard minima!
area of ?5cm'. The bacterial growth is then expressed as the nunnber of ba~aeria per cm' l"he most stringent standards allow a gro~nrth of up to 5x10'' (~. ~ fn fog scale) br:~;tera:.
cer cm' while the least strict ones consider a growth ofi up tc~ ~ xu 0' {'7.0 in log ~ ca!e:;
30 roan-contaminated.
Ttve procedure f:rotails treating d 2~ cm surface ara:a sarrv~rie of ttne rnrrt vv'it-a rr~l of aqueous solution. The bacterial ;~onter~t rs intrcd~.~cE~d ir:t~~
11o:, aofut.c r: :mir;
a stomacher apparatus (Seward Lab U.K.). This suspension is tilers ;:lut-a ;r, a ty~.
~a fold series up to 10~y in 0.1 M prvosphate buffer, pH 7Ø pne rnl of each di?~~t?on l applierJ-to each of three types of E70rnm growing plates: (a} c:ontain~ng plate ccu:r't agar (PC.A, Difcc} incubated at 33°G~U 2 for 48 hours to andble total viaf~ie ar:rob;c count, (b; containing SPS agar !D~fco) d!lcwing ~ac~stridium grc7wth, and (o}
containing the same medium as a (a) allowing fTlvCfD~~rOphllE growth. -i-ype (b) and (c) piate:s were confined within sealed anaerobic ;are supplied with gas generating l-;its (dxoid, tJ.K.) and incubated for twenty four hours at 35°C. Bacterial cofcnies (up to 20~J per plate; were ccunted using a CUfOny counter.
1~~ According to international health standards, the maxirrval i~3ctGria!
grov~th allowed for non-contaminated meat is 1x10'/crn2 total viable aerobic;
t~ac;eria and 1x104/cml ef microaarophils. The shelf life of a meat in a non-cc~nta,nina i;t-:~d .~crm eras determined by tY;e duration until the above defined bacteria levels, v,~c~re reacr,eca "~reservaticn duratiUn"j.
1:p ~t"wenty experiments were carried out as follows: meats ~sampi~s v,~~.:~;r~
preserved at 5~:~-3.5°G and bacterial counts were carried out at interval<_; of fo.~r c~i.~y~,, Trw iengtr; at "preservakien duration" in ti~ese experiments (expressed aC
rr~e~zn ~:5F1 SNere fc~r microaerophif5: 8.722.1 days fur air treated samp'.es and 18.:3 3.?
.' fc:r ?u CO-treated sarnpies (see Figure 2a;~; by the criteria cf tota' viable aerobic bacteria ~ 1.?3~-1.1 1 days for air treated meat samples and 23 12~-2.10 fcr GC)-treated carat samples (see Figure 2b}.
This data Shows that the meat preservation method of tha: prNSant u,vt nt~c,r~
?5 su~:ceeded in extending the shelf fife mere than two fold.
Exam~lH ~i DeterminatiGn of Meat Shelf-life Extension by E3acterial (~c~~.:nt a:, 1_i;roit::c~ ;~y ;tt 4nternational Ccntrot Standards:
Preservation at Hidh l~oorr~ Tr~moerature As in the previous example, rneat :~arnples were prescrv~ri at l6~-4~C%. J~.~e ;
the high temperature which accel~.rates bacterial growth, !~act,~r;al co~~lr~t 3.ws _~ deiermir~ed at five hour intervals. Four experiments were carried out and tht~ ienrf tn of "presiyrvation duration" in _khese experiments (expressed as mean ASE=) were. ~y the 4rireria of total viable aerobic bacteria 13.1 hours for air treated samples a~ld :3C~1 hours for C;O-treated samples !see Figure 11. By tt~e microaerwphils count criteria: 9.5-r~-0.9 hours for air trea'ad samples and ~3.5-~0.6 h,on,~s for CO-treated samples.
example 9 Inhibition Of toad Odor Development In CO Treated ~~leats In a!1 meets preserved as in examples 1 through 8, ;t was foun~-I that by the time o' detection of bad odors if". air preserved meaks, no :;imi,ar odor ~nras d=:~tF=cteu in the CO-treated meats. This finairg indicates that the arrest of rr~~at-s;poilagL ~u,~:..
achieved by the meat preservation rrlethod of the present irwen>ion .
Consstentf~ . in I~ ail preserved meat samples bad odor was detectable in samples which showed nigh c:our7t of bacteria. Additionally, by t>',e time load odor was c~etec;able by the average human nose; the total viable aerobic court exceeded 1, t)g colonies~'<;m~, a v;~lue whv,ch exceeds that allowed f Car nor-3-contarrlinated meats ('~0~
colonies~cm'j ~-vus, odor is a less sensitive indicator of meat spoilage than t~ac!eriaf courst.
Ho:~:r:vr~r, odor is valuably because it can be use~:~ by most people including the r~~e~~t cor;surners.
Table 2 represents the "preservation duration" under various ror~ditior~s at which GO-treated meat retained pleasing odors while air presc:rve;i rr.eat srr~eil,~~-f 2_s bar.iiy.
TABLI~ 2 hype Size -( empHrature rangePre:;ervatir~rv of of curation meat -___ ~__~WrJ_ation_ , G _!_ ,::._ __~_. _ 'fly !~:~
~ s __...__ Beef Slices 2-9 ''3 ~p_30 .., ' Beef Ghunks ''-0 13 Chunks 14-17 '.
Veal ;~!~,ces22-30 T tlrkeySIIC~-~'S~~-3Q :-s t~
2~
Example ? 0 -CO D~~,ffusion From I'~leat Su~f2ce into the Core During the Preslrv~~iion.
Meat samples were sealed in plastic bags under 100 ~o CU at a pressure of about 1.1 atmosphere. GO volume was 30 ~- 20°% of tire meat volume. the bags were kept at 5°(:. Figures ir-9 derncnstrate a typical experiment in which meat was treated 2~ hours after sla~s~ghter. A sample of calf meat weigising 18 pouvds (about 8 Kg) was cut into two nine pound pieces raving maxfmt.rm length of 3C~ cm arrr' maximum width of 20 crn. One of these samples was kept frozen at -iBv'C wh~Ie ltve other was preserved in CO at 5°C. After three days, the bag was cpent:d to release the unbcur;d CO and the meat was left in the open air for half an hour. The meat sample was cut transversally at about one third of its length (7 cm frcrr~
orle ecacae) About 30°f~- of the meat radius {from surface to core) charged in color from darito bright red 'see Figure I). Because any C;O which reaches Hb/tvlb bird qt;ickly, the is change m meat color serves as a mf.~asure of the CO diffusion rate.
The meat samples were reas ~embled and repacked with CU Following .sEVe-~
additional days at 5~C, the meat sarnptes was ague unpacked anti cut transver:~aaly once ire tha middle of the sample, about 1 'pcm from the edge !Sf~Owr-i I:n l igure~ ~ l, ?(t and once closer to the end of the sample, at about give tloird of t'r.e s;..rn~,le's le~g'rn (stnovvro .n Flgure 9). As shown in th~a transverse cut in Figure 8, th.
rnt:t~t 4vas airnc5t completely bricght red except for a srnali dark red area shown by are arrc~fr.
This indicates a nearly complete diffusion or Saturation of the CO from the ;~ur!a~.,e tc5 tt~e core of the meat samp(eThe cut at ane third of the sarnpie's ,er.gth sr~cw:~
ttvat in '?5 this tore, oxy--Hbll~lb were completely converted to their carc~ornor~c~7cy forms r~s sho~~rn in Figure 9. The meat samp,es werE: reassembled and kept at ;3°G under ~:O
for an additional two days to <:nsure complete cormersior~ cf flbl~"tj t~, thr carbomonoxy forms. After 12 days order CO at ~"C, th-_--. color =,f a Crlladle sw;pl~
(transverse cut) differed dramatically from that ofi the frozen sample (see ~=ig~ur;: 1~), .3() indicating that oxy-forms of HbiMb were preserved in the frozen rrreat sanspl;: (f ~igura 9; right) white carbomonoxy forms prevailed in the CU treated meat rFlgr~re 1 C~; I~:Ft l.
Exam .e 11_ A earance of the Cooked Meats .5 Fram the 12 day-ofd, frozen and CO treated meats fst~own in F=igrire 101, W
;m in width pieces were cut transvErsally. Each piece was cooked in 10C> ml distilled water in a covered pot on a low flar~ne for n2D minutes. At the end of the coekng yeriod, all of the water had evaporated. The appearance of the cooked rneat pieces is shown ire Figure 1 1. f hey were similar Pxc:ept for some browning of the surfare~ of 1t? the CO treated meat due to complete water loss in tt~e rrreat.
To reveal the meat irterfor, tt~e two pieces were cut transversally. A srr~a!I
:est by ten different people assured that p~ecea smelled alik- f~avir~g a typical "co~:;a meat smell The transverse sections are seen in Figure 12 anti were vf~ry s!rri;' r in appearance. This experirnent demonstrat~a the loss of the bourad C:t~ during t'1e cooking process (heating) vvhicr~ leads to protein denaturatlOr, and fa.rr~e degradation.
?.Q
~xamole 12 Measurements of CO Release in the Process of Cookirsg A. Experimental procedure:
?j All measurements of C;O release in the process of cooking 4VErE? carried c,u~ in a ~'.~ liter sealed regular pressure pot ("pressure cooker'"1 to wrvcil mancmeterlthermcmeter was inserted to measure the ternperature and pre=sur:
during cooking. The pot was also equipped with a controlled outlet (v,~i~ej.
To ewm:it corrrplete sealing the pot lid wasalso smeared with a layer of ;-~ic~r~
vacouno rre.~~r~:r 30 prior to locking the pot. The pot was then heated by cooking gas for a iew rr; r rotes until r2aohing a pressure of 7.5 atrnosPhr~res and a temperature of a?35°F y1 U3'C;
At this stage the pot was transferred to an electric heater for further <;ookir;ci k;epirr~~l tree pressure within the pot at 1.7~-~.7 atmospheres arid the temperature a1 ~11.",.:
1~°C. Gaoking time varied among experiments within the tune range of raguiar 3~ domestic cooking, namely 00-140 minutes. The pot was allowe~~ lo c.oc>I
~_mt,1 reaching room temperature and then was connected via the valve to a C;4 mon-tor.
-f he Cfl level in the pot atmosphere was expressed in PPM
The measurA GO lave! in PPB(m) was translated and exaressed as C:J
> PPM(c) released from 2 Kg of cooked meat (a far~ily meal size) into a sEla~ed ro~~m of 3.0 sauare rneters (kitchen size dimensions). Considering tt;e volume ~f one rroo!e of gas at room temperature as ?2 4 liters, the expected CJ ;evei wav calc:
elated ~:~=:
PPM(c) - 0.074. PPtv1(m)!X
1C) Where: PPrr1(c) -~ calculated PF'M
PPM(m) _ measured PPM;
X _. meat weighs in grams.
6. Safety in cooking the CO treated meat:
200-G50 gram meat samples {either in one piece or ground) were- treatE:d ~~ith GO and stored within a confined GO atmosphere for 14 days at 5°C. The noe;3t.s were cooked within 30 minutes of removal from the CO Qackaging bags. The results (,expressed as explained above; are summarized in -rablE~ 3. As can Le seen, ve 2O average PPM (c) level given as Mean + :~.D. {N) was 0.056 _j- o.02r3 (10).
!« al', experiments, less than 0.1 PPM of ('.:4 was released from ~ Kg cooked ,neat ir~!o ;ha hermetically closed room. Since the TLV for CO is 25 PPM, it can be seen that the released CO level from the cooked meat (2Kg) in our experimar,ts, ~~~«s far be ow that safety limit. In fact it cs low enough not to a',arm a domestic CC?
e~etectc:r ( i0c~
25 PPAA for 90 minutes in a regular room size). Thus. under uur E~xperime~~tai cendit~.nns, the consumer is not exposed to danger. Moreover, treated meat;
f.;c~ul;~
be removed from their CO packing bags and maintained for at least 1=i days in th;:
open air at 5°C Lvithout any risk of CU release prior to cooking.
3t) No statistically significant test analysis could be made taecau:~~~ the experimental conditions were incomparable (chosen to cover various cooing conditions). However, there is a tread showing that the level of released C~J
is invr~rsely correlated w!th the post-slaughter period unti': C;(~ treatment c~egan. -t-nu~, the sooner {closer to slaughtering) tree meat was tre2teij, the higher tree GC) lev ci 2:i (see the declining order in items 1-4 a ground rrreat in Table 3). No'J~=
t;rnat (~~7 ~~iease I :vel reflects the CU bound IeVei in the meat. These findings ~grec-~Nith a :.:low autooxidatioo of HbiMb in rneats exposed to air prior to CO packir:ct, resuairg i,~ formation of ;~,,et-HbiMb which can no longer bind CQ. therefore, upo,~;
packi~v~, less CC.? will be bound and oonsequer~tly less CO will be releasc;d laser u~:ur~ cooking.
The data from the experiments (items 6-8a in Table 3) suggest that up to a period ~~t two days; post-slaughter, CO release level was similar.
From itEms 8a-8c {Tabl:.~ t), tNherein the portions of the same t:.',Q treated 1!~ sample were removed from the CO packing bag and exposed to open a.ir for varicfus periods, it appears that the CO was :-nain;ained withir; the samples for at least three days.
Fxam~e _13 Release of CO r>y Cookinct freshly drawn human blood was usecl. -f'he red cells w're w.~ashr~d and fy~;eci ire r~ caypotornc puffer. The mixture was centrifuged tea separate c~,itoa~~l frrm ?U membranes. The concentration of hemoglobin m the solution wa~> rneas~rrecl spe:arophotcmetrical'y and wa:~ found to be 16.~ rnM. The solution wa.~ sealed i7 a oeaker and CQ was gently flushed above tire solutioro surface white ;~i:irring tsar 3U
min~.~tes. A tew grains of dithionite-- was addEld to consume any residual oxygen. ~fhe color c~f the solution turned bright red typical of carbornonoxy Mb. The solutio,r ~.Na~, '_>5 then left while stirring (for 15 minute.y to the open air to released dissolved CO- 'The:
t-ib was identified spectr ophotometrically cis carbomonoxy Hb. Th~:~
hemogpobin sclutian was cooked exactly as the meat and the amount cf CCn in t',~e nit atrnosphere ~rvas measured. From the concentration of hemoglobin (e~tci~
tu:~r,~~e rro!ecule binds one CO molecule) the arnour7t of CO molecules was c:a,cul~-~ted it tire 3« solution From this amount and the pot volume, the expected F'F'~Yi Icwel of tctaliy di:~so~~iated CO was caicufated. As in the prccedure of cooked rr~r,;rts tfr~~
gas to°v~~~i ire the pot was noeasured by the CO rr3onitor. -I"he ratio of measured to naic!Uate~: CO
level turrned out to be 1.0~ ir.dicat~ng that, within experimer~,tci :error, ail CCO w:~s indeed released from the f-~b by c;octt:ing.
TAB1_E ~: CO RE~EaSE FROM COCKED MEA r~S
Item ~ Meat form Post slaughter period to ~ ~~ PPM(c) c~f~CU j Na. _~treatnaent (da s) l_ _ _.._. _ _~_ _ .
Ground 8 ~ ~_~__.~__r _ O.t)00~.._~.__ t 3~ Ground ~,~_. ~____.~._~___~._~__ _ ~.03'~ _.__..______ _~ G yo a n d -~ _:10 _ __ _ __. _. __ r. ~._. ___ ~- ~ . 0 . 0 ~ 3 _.___~_ i..~~~_ ~. I~~nd - ~ (1't~ ~- __, ~ ~.Os3 __~ 1 6~ ~_~. ' Chunk ~ ~ r ~__ ____ _s_.. ._.._~_~?.~'~3 _~,'_ Chunk ~ 0 C~.~0~:3 Chink _ . ~.r.-f.._ .........-_..~,T___.._y _..~.__ .~. ~~. _ ... .... . _,__~a i Ot'L__.._ Chunk ~ ~ 1 ~' . ~._ _ _,. ___. ~ ~)_Q °'"_~
A~1 meats ;?00-~p0 gr) were treated with CO and we~~: stored in i C) atmosphere fior t 4 days at ci°C. t he meats were ec>oked within 30 rr~ir~utes a ter exposure to air. {') refers to exposure period at S°C (irv dais) in the open air foilc~swir~~y removal from CO packaging bags. Items 8a-c are sub-chunks which ware left in the open air for different time periods. Average PPM(c) = D.O~c~ ~ G.026 1fl EXAMPLE 14 Studies were carried out comparing growth of inoculated pathogenic bacteria on freh meat under three atmospheres. Air and twu GQ cuntaEniocf ~r~cci~fi::~
atmospheres: high CO (9~-ti)0°ra) and !ow (10°..%) CO. In low LG
MP, UCH wa.~:
15 r~:placed by an inert gas, nitrogen. Note that in most experiments th;: CU
r.~ntre;~tec) control was tyke same for both modified atmospheres. Experman':~ ~w'th ~' c~Y~h ~r~rr carried out on different meat controls.
Conclusions ?() the data indicate treat none of the anaerabiclfacultative patt~mcens ~3~:c:ii:?~-i under GC? atmospheres could grow betty: r thaw when packed under air or rnitr,~gK:rn In contrast, growth of all pathogeons wa:; inhibited under CU containing atmr:,s ahrzrr;
and the level of inhibition was s'ronger upon elevation of CO coraer~t n tr'~e rr~cdifiecf z~i atmosphere.
As shown in Pigures14-23, the methods of the present inventic.n ir~hib~t ahr growth of E coli. Pseuc~omonas Staphylococcus auras Listeria mor ocytoger; es, clostridium prefringens Salmonella t-yphimirmm. This effe!~t was sPvowrv in botE~~ b»vf and in poultry, thus showing that this effect is not limited to use in the ivE~ef ind;~sry, a but can instead be used in oth?r similar industries wherein ttoe grow,~,to of mi~4rc~ is uncfesirabie.
-i he invention has been de:.crit~ed in an illustrative manna=r, arn~ it is to be understood that the terminology which has keen used is intended t,~ bt; in the nature lfl of words cf description rather than of !irnitatior~.
Obviously, many modifications and variations of tha present .rwention ,xr::.~
possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understo~~~d tha" within the scot3e of the appended claims, ;f~e invention may be practiced otherwise ttoao a:~
1 ~ specifically described a? 8 REFERENCES CITED
Baranaga, Carton Monoxide: KiFle~ to E3 rain Messenger in ~~ne Step", Sci~;n~e, ~' ,), 3CJ9 (1993).
~9
Claims (15)
1. A method of inhibiting pathogen growth by exposing raw meat to an atmosphere consisting essentially of carbon monoxide and maintaining the meat in a vacuum free, sealed container to maintain color and freshness while retarding bacterial growth.
2. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said exposing step is further defined as completely immersing the meat throughout with an atmosphere consisting essentially of carbon monoxide.
3. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said exposing step is further defined as exposing the meat to carbon monoxide gas for approximately 1 to 30 minutes prior to sealing the container.
4. A method as set forth in claim 3 wherein said exposing step is further defined as exposing the meat to carbon monoxide gas for approximately five minutes prior to sealing the container.
5. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said exposing step is further defined by exposing the meat to a volume of carbon monoxide ranging from approximately 5 to 100 percent by weight or volume of meat being treated.
6. A method as set forth in claim 5 wherein said exposing step is further defined by exposing the meat to a volume of carbon monoxide of approximately thirty percent by weight or volume of meat being treated.
7. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said exposing steps is further defined as exposing the meat to carbon monoxide gas between a temperature range of approximately -2 to 37°C.
8. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the sealed container is a plastic bag.
9. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the sealed container is a sealed chamber.
10. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the carbon monoxide in the container has an atmospheric pressure or approximately 1.5 to 5 atmospheres.
11. A method as set forth in claim 10 wherein the carbon monoxide in the container has an atmospheric pressure of approximately 2.0 atmospheres.
12. A method as set forth in claim 1 further including the step of storing the meat at a temperature above freezing following said carbon monoxide exposure step.
13. A method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the temperature is further defined as a temperature range from approximately -2 to 30°C.
14. An inhibitor of pathogen growth on meat comprising an atmosphere of carbon monoxide.
15. The inhibitor as set forth in claim 31, wherein said atmosphere is further defined as a volume of carbon monoxide of approximately 30% by weight or volume of the meat being treated.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US66150900A | 2000-09-13 | 2000-09-13 | |
| US09/661,509 | 2000-09-13 | ||
| PCT/US2001/028636 WO2003063599A1 (en) | 2000-09-13 | 2001-09-13 | A method for the long-term preservation of meat processed thereby |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2425864A1 true CA2425864A1 (en) | 2002-03-13 |
Family
ID=24653895
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002425864A Abandoned CA2425864A1 (en) | 2000-09-13 | 2001-09-13 | Method for the long-term preservation of meat and the meat processed thereby |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP1385385A4 (en) |
| AR (1) | AR030725A1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU2001289071A1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2425864A1 (en) |
| NZ (1) | NZ524733A (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2003063599A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2005122774A2 (en) | 2004-06-10 | 2005-12-29 | Cargill, Incorporated | Packaging of meat prodcuts with modified atmospheres and/or enhancers |
| CA2571429A1 (en) * | 2004-06-28 | 2006-01-12 | Excel Corporation | Meat packaging system |
| US8158176B2 (en) | 2005-07-01 | 2012-04-17 | Cargill, Incorporated | Meat processing |
| IT202100021839A1 (en) * | 2021-08-12 | 2023-02-12 | Fs2D S R L | PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION, TREATMENT AND STORAGE OF VARIOUS KINDS OF MEAT, SUCH AS CHICKEN SKEWER (ALSO KNOWN AS KEBAB), POULTRY, BEEF, PORK, SHEEP AND GAME |
Family Cites Families (10)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3122748A (en) * | 1959-06-17 | 1964-02-25 | Goodyear Tire & Rubber | Meat package and method of preparing same |
| DE1935566A1 (en) * | 1968-07-18 | 1970-01-22 | Verbruggen Maria Louisa | Preserving natural colour of foodstuffs by treatment - with gases |
| US4001446A (en) * | 1975-10-28 | 1977-01-04 | The Quaker Oats Company | Color stabilized product and process |
| US4089983A (en) * | 1976-12-01 | 1978-05-16 | The Quaker Oats Company | Color-stabilized semi-moist food and process |
| JPS61141863A (en) * | 1984-12-17 | 1986-06-28 | Toko Iimura | Color-developing rreatment of raw meat |
| JPH053752A (en) * | 1991-06-27 | 1993-01-14 | Hiroya Tamayama | Method for keeping and improving color-development of meat |
| JPH05316939A (en) * | 1991-10-16 | 1993-12-03 | Koikuni:Kk | Method for filling co into package and its apparatus |
| ES2169241T3 (en) * | 1995-04-19 | 2002-07-01 | Univ Ramot | PROCEDURE FOR LONG-TERM CONSERVATION OF MEAT. |
| US6270829B1 (en) * | 1996-04-18 | 2001-08-07 | Ramot University Authority For Applied Research And Industrial Development, Ltd. | Carbon monoxide saturated, preserved raw meat |
| US6042859A (en) * | 1996-04-18 | 2000-03-28 | Ramot University Authority For Applied Research And Industrial Development Ltd. | Method for the long-term preservation of meat |
-
2001
- 2001-09-13 EP EP01968859A patent/EP1385385A4/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2001-09-13 CA CA002425864A patent/CA2425864A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2001-09-13 NZ NZ524733A patent/NZ524733A/en unknown
- 2001-09-13 WO PCT/US2001/028636 patent/WO2003063599A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2001-09-13 AR ARP010104338A patent/AR030725A1/en unknown
- 2001-09-13 AU AU2001289071A patent/AU2001289071A1/en not_active Abandoned
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP1385385A4 (en) | 2006-04-19 |
| NZ524733A (en) | 2005-10-28 |
| EP1385385A1 (en) | 2004-02-04 |
| AR030725A1 (en) | 2003-09-03 |
| AU2001289071A1 (en) | 2003-09-02 |
| WO2003063599A1 (en) | 2003-08-07 |
| WO2003063599A8 (en) | 2004-02-12 |
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