Beef Shelf Life Prediction Model - MLA adaptation and extension modules

Summary

​The beef industry has a challenge in improving and documenting shelf life of chill stored beef along the distribution chain.
This project aims to adapt the existing Danish Meat Research Institute shelf life prediction model for vacuum packed product to retail packing in modified atmosphere packaging. A model describing growth and development of raw meat odour in modified atmosphere packaging packed beef has been developed.
The difference between the counts found and scores for raw meat odour during storage of modified atmosphere packaging packed (80% CO2:20% O2 ) beef is not very different from what would be expected in vacuum packed beef.
There is a tendency, that the difference is larger at low temperatures than at high temperatures in the range -0.3 °C to 8 °C. The following cuts were used for the tests:topside with fatcuvette - a Scandinavian cut from the hind leg suitable for production of minced meatsirloin
When developing the model for shelf life of vacuum packed beef an Root Mean Square Error of 0.38 and 0.78 were found for growth and raw meat odour. This means that the differences between observed and fitted values are larger in the model for modified atmosphere packaging packed beef than in the model for vacuum packed beef.
This model will be incorporated into a Shelf Life Prediction Tool for the Australian red meat industry.