Vacuum skin pack of beef--a consumer friendly alternative.

The aim of this study was to assess how beef quality traits are affected by skin packaging compared with vacuum and high-oxygen modified atmosphere packaging (MAP; 80% O(2) and 20% CO(2)). Both M. longissimus dorsi from 6 young bulls were cut and aged in vacuum for 7 days and then cut into 3.5-cm steaks, thereafter either frozen directly day 7 or stored in skin pack, vacuum pack or MAP for an additional 7 or 14 days and then frozen. Warner-Bratzler shear force, loss and colour were measured and sensory analysis was performed. The results showed no differences in shear force, sensory analysis and total loss between steaks packed in skin pack or vacuum, but skin packed steaks had lower purge loss. MAP steaks had lower sensory scores than the other treatments at days 14 and 21. Raw MAP-steaks were bright red, but showed signs of premature browning when cooked.