Australian beef shelf life verification trial

Summary

Australian vacuum-packed chilled beef has a practical storage life of 140 days when stored below 0°C. In Egypt, much shorter limits of 49 days for boneless and 28 days for bone-in beef are prescribed, which restricts market supply of Australian beef.

This study was designed to verify that Australian boneless (striploin) and bone-in beef (oven prepared [OP] rib) primals display satisfactory sensory properties throughout extended cold storage in Egypt.

Both bone-in and boneless primals were considered acceptable in regards to taste, colour and odour to an Egyptian panel until 126 days, even though most Egyptian Standard quality limits were exceeded.

Objectives

This study was designed to verify that Australian boneless and bone-in beef primals:

• display satisfactory sensory properties that meet consumer demand in presentation, cooking and eating quality when stored up to 133 days (19 weeks)
• product remains acceptable when quality criteria exceed the acceptable limits prescribed in the Egyptian Standard Specification (ESS).

Key findings

Australian OP ribs and striploin were shown to have acceptable sensory (taste, colour and odour) properties until 126 days (18 weeks) of cold storage. The product also remained within most Egyptian Standard limits for the majority of the period of sensory acceptability.

At 126 days (18 weeks), both primals displayed acceptable sensory properties, even though the mean drip percent, level of surface bacteria and basic nitrogen values exceeded the ESS limits.

Benefits to industry

Increasing the shelf life of vacuum-packed meat in Egypt would provide many opportunities for businesses in Australia and Egypt, including:

• reduced freight costs in supply chains
• more quality products at lower prices
• opportunities to grow and develop food manufacturing businesses.

The results reinforce the superior shelf life attributes of Australian beef and contributed to the overall Australian beef industry objective to create new market opportunities or cost savings by 2030.

MLA action

MLA will use these results, in conjunction with other parties, in negotiation with Egyptian government regulators and standards setting bodies, to review the shelf life applied to Australian red meat and to request review of the standards applied within Egypt. The report will be relevant to all markets that apply short mandatory shelf life to vacuum packed chilled beef products.

Future research

Further investigations of the relevance of red meat quality parameters utilised by importing countries may be required to determine their relevant markets. Investigations could also provide data that would support importing countries to change their standards.