Type of packaging affects the colour stability of vitamin E enriched beef

Colour stability is a very important parameter for meat retail display, as appearance of the product is the deciding factor for consumers at time of purchase. This study investigated the possibility of extending appearance shelf-life through the combined use of packaging method (overwrapping – OVER, modified atmosphere – MAP, vacuum skin packaging – VSP and a combination of modified atmosphere and vacuum skin packaging – MAPVSP) and antioxidants (vitamin E enriched beef). Retail attributes (appearance, lean colour, % surface discolouration), as well as colour space analysis of images for red, green and blue parameters were measured over 18 days. MAPVSP provided the most desirable retail appearance during the first 4 days of retail display, while VSP-HB had the best colour stability. Overall, packaging type was more influential than α-tocopherol levels on meat colour stability, although α-tocopherol levels (>4 μg g−1 meat) had a protective effect when using high oxygen packaging methods.