Quality of meat products packaged and stored under vacuum and modified atmosphere conditions

The experimental materials comprised cooked coarsely-ground and finely-ground sausages. The sausages were packaged in vacuum (V) and in modified atmospheres with the following composition: 20 % CO2, 80 % N2 (A1); 50 % CO2, 50 % N2 (A2); 80 % CO2, 20 % N2 (A3). The samples were stored at around 4 °C for 15 days. The measurements were repeated 8 times: at the completion of the production process and at 3-day intervals (day 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15) during storage. Drip loss changes in the package were analyzed during storage. Meat products were subjected to a sensory evaluation. The obtained results show that changes in the quality of meat products packaged under modified atmosphere are significantly influenced by the composition of the applied atmosphere. A wider range of quality changes were noted in vacuum-packaged products. Changes in the quality of modified atmosphere packaged products were less significant.