EP0894720A1 - Process and apparatus for conditioning meat under a protective atmosphere - Google Patents

Abstract

The method, for use with packaging meat (3) in trays (1) with transparent sealed covers (2), involves evacuating the package until residual oxygen is below 0.5%. The extracted air is then replaced with a mixture containing about 65-75% carbon dioxide and 25-35% nitrogen. The materials used for the tray and sealing film are impervious to gases and provide a barrier against ultraviolet and light rays, with sufficient gas introduced to give a slight pressure above atmospheric inside the package. In addition, the tray, which is made from e.g. expanded polystyrene, is coated with an anti-condensation barrier film (6), e.g. aluminised, and a layer of absorbent paper (4) or similar to soak up any exudates. The sealing film layer has a mark showing where to pierce it before opening the tray.

Description

The present invention relates to the marketing of pieces of meat, or cut meat, in trays and more precisely aims for a new mode of packaging ensuring a longer shelf life.

Various packages of meat cuts exist at present, especially in department stores. The packaging under traditional and transparent protective atmosphere has existed for over ten years. This requires the reinjection of a large proportion of oxygen so that the meat, despite everything, subjected to the effects of light retains its color. This injection of oxygen greatly reduces the life of the product. In most cases, packaging in a protective atmosphere traditional does not allow a consumption deadline of more than 10 days.

The packaging of the cut meat in a semi-rigid tray vacuum sealed with a transparent film allows deadlines for conservation up to 21 days.

However, the meat is in this case compressed, visually very unattractive to the consumer, hence the need to cover this tray of an overpack so that the product is marketable, without that this overwrapping has an influence on storage.

The aim of the invention is to propose a new technique for conservation of meats in portions allowing to lengthen them significantly longer shelf life, while preserving its qualities organoleptics as well as its visual appearance, all in the strictest respect legal health obligations.

To this end, the invention relates to a method of packaging meats in a protective atmosphere, in which pieces of meat are arranged in sealed trays, characterized in that before the sealing the pieces of meat are placed directly in the trays, an appropriate vacuum is made inside them in order to reduce the residual oxygen level below 0.5% and the extracted air is replaced by a gas mixture comprising approximately 65 to 75% of carbon dioxide and 25 to 35% nitrogen, the tray-film unit sealer with gas tightness and screw barrier properties opposite ultra-violet and luminous rays.

Advantageously, a waterproof anti-condensation film also ensuring the gas tightness of the tray is put in place on the internal face of the tray and blotting paper or the like is interposed between the bottom of the tray and meat to collect exudates.

Preferably, the atmosphere inside the tray is set slight overpressure compared to the outside.

The invention also relates to a packaging for the implementation work of the above process.

Such packaging is such as to ensure the meat thus prepared a significantly longer shelf life and in particular double that usually offered by current container packaging.

• Figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'une barquette de conditionnement de viande selon l'invention ;
• Figure 2 est une coupe transversale de la barquette de la figure 1.

Other characteristics and advantages will emerge from the description which follows of an embodiment of a packaging according to the invention, description given by way of example only and with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a meat packaging container according to the invention;
• Figure 2 is a cross section of the tray of Figure 1.

In Figures 1 and 2, there is shown schematically at 1 a conventional tray, for example in expanded polystyrene, sealed with a waterproof barrier film 2, for example aluminized, also conventional and containing a piece of meat 3, placed simply and directly on the bottom of tray 1, with the interposition of blotting paper 4 or the like, known type, intended to collect exudates from meat.

Before sealing on the peripheral edge of the tray 1 of the film sealing 2, and after placing the piece of meat 3, a vacuum is made in the space between tray 1 and film 2 to reduce the residual oxygen level below 0.5%. The extracted air is replaced, according to the invention, by a gaseous mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, about 65 to 75% of carbon dioxide and preferably from 70 to 75%, the percentage of nitrogen being correlatively between 30 and 25%.

The interior of the tray is before sealing the film 2 put slightly overpressure relative to the outside atmosphere, as illustrated by the light curved film 2 on the drawings.

The sealing strip for film 2 is shown at 5 on the edge tray device 1.

The gas tightness of the container, in particular, is established at using a thin film 6 of suitable material, forming an anti-condensation barrier and glued to the entire inner side of the tray.

The tray 1-lidding tray 2 assembly is generally impervious to ultraviolet A and B rays and to light, as well as to gases.

Finally, at 7 in FIG. 1, a marker has been shown for piercing the film 2 five minutes before the opening of the tray, allowing ventilation free from the piece of meat.

Such packaging guarantees a shelf life of at least 18 days of meat, without significant loss of its organoleptic properties.

The various materials used are of course suitable for contact food.

Finally, the invention is obviously not limited to the mode of implementation work represented and described above, but on the contrary covers all variants, in particular as regards the nature of the gas mixture protective, the proportion of the constituents, or the nature of the material elements (1, 2, 4 and 6) of the packaging.

Claims (6)

Process for packaging meat under a protective atmosphere, in which pieces of meat (3) are arranged in trays (1) sealed, characterized in that before the sealing the pieces of meat are placed directly in the trays, an appropriate vacuum is created inside the latter in order to bring the residual oxygen level below 0.5% and the extracted air is replaced by a gas mixture comprising Approximately 65 to 75% of carbon dioxide and 25 to 35% of nitrogen, the tray-lidding film assembly having sealing properties gas and barrier to ultraviolet and light rays. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the proportion of carbon dioxide is preferably from 70 to 75%, that of nitrogen being correlatively 30 to 25%. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the interior of the trays (1) is put under slight overpressure relative to the outside atmosphere. Packaging for implementing the method according to one any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it consists a tray (1) sealed with a waterproof barrier film (2) and the face of which internal is coated with a waterproof barrier film (6) anti-condensation. Packaging according to claim 4, characterized in that that between the piece of meat (3) and the bottom of the tray (1) is interposed a blotting paper (4) or the like for collecting exudates. Packaging according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that that the sealing film (2) includes a mark (7) for drilling before the opening of the tray.

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