Aged Vacuum Packaged Lamb Cuts Are Less Brown than Fresh Muscle Cuts under Simulated Retail Display

Abstract

Fifty four, seven month old lambs, that had grazed perennial or annual pasture, were slaughtered and at 24 h post mortem m . longissimus lumborum samples were collected. Half of the fresh muscle section was sliced into three pieces and overwrapped with 15 micron polyvinyl chloride film and displayed under light (Lux = 1500) at 3 ℃ - 4 ℃ . The remainder of the muscle section was vacuum packaged and aged for 4 weeks at 3 ℃ , before slicing and display. Surface brownness and redness were measured over 3 days of simulated retail display. Aging in vacuum packs led to substantially less brownness and greater redness compared with fresh meat, over the entire three days of display. It was concluded that aging in vacuum packs could be a useful strategy for improving consumer acceptability of retail lamb in local markets, even where there is no logistical or transport need to extend the life of the meat.