Achievement and Future Developments of Polymer Materials for Meat and Semi-Finished Products

Abstract

Consumption of unprocessed meat products in the conditions of increasing and subsequent preservation of achieved meat production volumes in the Russian Federation is continue to increase. At present, semi-finished products occupied first in the overall structure of production and consumption meat products, having overtaken in aggregate all types of processed products. In the background of increasing competition between domestic producers, the requirements for the packaging of the main types of unprocessed products – cuts and lumpy semi-finished products – will be continue to increase as an important driver of sales. Research studies play an important role in the development of packaging solutions for industry. This review focuses on the main areas of scientists studying from different countries. Modern scientific achievement in the field of vacuum packaging for chilled meat and semi-finished products including heat-shrinkable materials and skin packaging are presented. Special attention was paid to the forming safety and quality indexes of meat products, as well as functionality and «barrier» of packaging materials. Basic aspects of modified atmosphere packaging with different gas mixture including monoxide carbon and high oxygen using to maintain the desirable bright red color meat are considered.The further directions for development of technology sous-vide are discussed, as well as active and intelligent packaging. The search for new ideas in the field of active and smart packaging will help for better controlling shelf life, regulating freshness and maintaining stable quality of meat products.

Keywords

• meat
• polymer materials
• vacuum
• modified atmosphere packaging
• sous-vide
• active packaging
• smart packaging
• quality
• shelf-life