Comparison of shelf life of vacuum-packed pork and beef

The relevance of the intrinsic factors of meat to the sensorial shelf life of vacuum-packed, cold-stored minced pork and beef was investigated. The intrinsic factors studied were the pH and the concentrations of glycogen, glucose, glucose-6-phosphate, L-lactate and fat. The initial bacterial loading was the same on all the meat. High correlations were found between the initial values of pH, fat and L-lactate, respectively, and the rate of spoilage. Using partial least square regression, it was shown that changes in the pH and the concentrations Of L-lactate and glucose-6-phosphate during storage were able to explain 68% of the variation observed in the rate of spoilage. No relationship was found between spoilage and the origin of the meat (pork or beef). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.