Treatment of meats with ionising radiations. XV.—Irradiation of beef from barley-fed animals

Joints of ‘barley beef’, irradiated at a dose level of 0.4 Mrad., were stored at 2° in plastic packages of differing gas permeabilities. Bacterial growth was reduced by the lack of oxygen and/or the accumulation of carbon dioxide. The irradiated meat remained unspoiled for at least 84 days. The useful shelf-life of the beef can be extended greatly by irradiation, but the undesirable colour changes resulting from the exclusion of oxygen remains a serious drawback.