Prolonged shelf life and reduced drip loss of chicken filets by the use of carbon dioxide emitters and modified atmosphere packaging.

Modified atmosphere packaging containing CO2 is widely used for extending the shelf life of chicken meat. Active packaging by adding CO2 emitter sachets to packages of meat is an alternative to traditional modified atmosphere packaging. The purpose of the study was to investigate the shelf life of chicken filets under different CO2 concentrations at 4°C storage. The inhibition of microbial growth was proportional to the CO2 concentration. Storage in 100% CO2 both with and without a CO2 emitter sachet gave a microbiological shelf-life extension of 7 days compared with 60% CO2. Carnobacterium divergens, Carnobacterium sp., and Lactococcus sp. were the dominating species at the end of the storage period. During storage in pure CO2, the carbon dioxide dissolved in the meat and caused the collapse of the packages. The resulting squeeze of the meat lead to a severe increase in drip loss. The drip loss was reduced profoundly by using the CO2 emitting sachet in the packages. The addition of CO2 emitters can easily be implemented at industrial packaging lines without reduction in production efficiency.