Shelf life of ground poultry meat stored under modified atmosphere

The shelf life of ground chicken and turkey meat packaged under a modified atmosphere containing O2 and a high level of CO2 (62% CO2, 8% O2, and 30% N2; gas-1), or a gas mixture without O2 (20% CO2 and 80% N2; gas-2) was evaluated for 20 d at 1 C. Meat packaged under gas-2 maintained a higher a* value (redness) throughout the experiment and generally had a more appealing color than the meat packaged using gas-1. Microbial populations were assessed after 8, 12, and 15 d of storage. Total aerobic mesophilic counts were higher in chicken meat than in turkey throughout storage. Coliforms and Escherichia coli counts were lower in meat packaged under gas-1. After 15 d of storage at 1 C, Brochothrix thermosphacta was detected only in ground chicken meat packaged using gas-2. Meat packaged under the gas mixtures tested had similar counts for presumptive pseudomonads, Staphylococcus aureus, and lactic acid bacteria. These results indicate that an appropriate gas mixture can maintain a desirable color in ground poultry meat but offers no guarantees with respect to the microbial profile of meat.