The effect of heat shrink treatment and storage temperature on the time of onset of “blown pack” spoilage

This study determined the effects of (a) the short “heat shrink” treatment frequently applied to vacuum packed meats within normal commercial production, and (b) chill holding storage temperature, on the subsequent time to onset (TTO) of “blown pack” spoilage (BPS). Beef or lamb steaks were inoculated with 103 CFU/cm2 of spore suspensions of five gas producing clostridia, vacuum packed (VP) and treated as follows: no heat, 50 °C/15 s, 70 °C/10 s or 90 °C/3 s. Samples were stored at −1.5, 1 or 4 °C and examined daily to determine TTO of BPS. For each strain, pack treatment and storage temperature had significant (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001 respectively) effects on TTO of BPS, i.e. 90 °C/3 s < 70 °C/10 s < 50 °C/15 s ≤ “no heat”, and 4 °C < 1 °C < −1.5 °C. The study suggested that the meat industry could reduce the risks of BPS by avoiding higher temperature (90 °C/3 s or 70 °C/10 s) heat shrinking, and by storing VP meats at lower temperatures (e.g. −1.5 °C).