ESTIMATE OF THE SHELF-LIFE OF BEEF UNDER VACUUM PACKAGING BY OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE MEASUREMENTS

Abstract This work was carried out in order to establish variables which would be useful to estimate the shelf-life of vacuum packaged beef from the Pirenaica breed. This breed is the main source of beef meat in the Spanish West Pyrenees. Two different fresh beef cuts (rib and chuck) samples were evaluated for total fatty acid composition, pH, lipid oxidation (TBA values), total bacterial counts (APC), Enterobacteriaceae counts and by sensory evaluation after 15 and 30 day under vacuum and then after 3 days of display. The variables that contributed to separating the storage periods determining the shelf-life of vacuum packaged beef were TBA, APC, Enterobacteriaceae counts and the sensory variables of color, odor and overall appearance.