MAPLOXSM Program for Case-Ready Meat
Fresh meat packed using Multisorb Technologies MAPLOX (Modified Atmosphere Packaging Low Oxygen) System with FreshPax® CR and APA-500 dispenser reliably preserves the taste and visual appeal of refrigerated meat for up to three weeks
MAPLOX is an easy to use, low-oxygen packaging system that maintains refrigerated meat in pristine condition. MAPLOX is designed to extend the saleable life of fresh meat at retail and realize significant savings from central location packaging. It provides consumers with fresh and appealing beef, pork, lamb, veal and other value-added meat products.
The MAPLOX program provides a roadmap for case-ready packers just starting with low-oxygen packaging. Elements of the program include the primary package materials and specifications, master bag specification, vacuum/gas flush composition and functional requirement, FreshPax CR sizing and handling methods, and APA-500 FreshPax dispenser.
The MAPLOX program provides packers with a low cost option for case-ready packaging. Technical support offered as part of the program assures optimization of package components and scavenger, maximizing the chances of success and minimizing cost. Because the oxygen scavenger is pre-activated, there is minimal investment required to begin using the system. This allows for a very rapid ramp-up of operations.
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Controlling oxygen and prolonging shelf life
Oxygen is the main cause of reduced shelf life. After a few days exposure to the oxygen content of air, meat loses its freshness, taste, and visual appeal — it becomes un-saleable. MAPLOX maintains quality through the entire storage and distribution cycle and delivers meat fresh to the display case while realizing the savings of central location packing.
Low-oxygen MAP
Vacuum and back-flush systems remove air from the package and replace it with a typical mixture of 70% nitrogen and 30% carbon dioxide. These systems may include 0.4% carbon monoxide to maintain the color. In the typical case-ready package a number of trays are over-wrapped and hermetically sealed in a master bag. It is the atmosphere of the master bag that is modified usually down to <1% residual oxygen. Additional oxygen remains in the primary package, in the foam tray, dissolved in the meat, and bound to hemoglobin. The FreshPax CR scavenger removes this residual oxygen within a day or two and, combined with low temperature storage and distribution, effectively inhibits oxidative degradation and spoilage of the meat
A Texas A & M study1, funded by The Beef Check-off, found that when compared to high-oxygen systems “steaks packaged in vacuum and back-flushed MAP had lower levels of discoloration during retail display and did not exhibit the premature browning effect (when cooking).” Shelf life for low-oxygen packed meats in the study ranged from five to nine days in dark storage and five days on the retail shelf. In vacuum and back-flush systems, a small amount of residual oxygen, approximately 0.5% to 2%, typically remains in the bag. Even this percentage of oxygen decreases shelf life. FreshPax CR effectively removes this remaining oxygen. The result and the benefit is extension of shelf life well beyond nine days.
FreshPax CR is an oxygen scavenger packet containing an absorbent formulation which literally scavenges residual oxygen out of the master bag while simultaneously taking the oxygen out of the primary tray packs. It reduces oxygen content in a master bag to below 0.1% and maintains this level despite oxygen ingress due to permeation. All components of the MAPLOX system and FreshPax CR formulation and package are compliant with applicable sections of Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) standards for food contact materials. These standards are followed even though there is no food contact in the master bag.
After the FreshPax CR packet is inserted into the master bag and the bag is hermetically sealed, oxygen is substantially removed within 24-48 hours, thereby ensuring red color once the master bag is opened. FreshPax CR typically extends the shelf life of case-ready meat for 15 to 21 days.
Multisorb’s MAPLOX program and system provides the optimum-sized FreshPax CR for each customer’s case-ready meat application. The FreshPax CR is dispensed on the meat packing line with the APA-500 from Multisorb’s Active-Pak Automation (APA) Division. FreshPax CR, packed either for hand insertion or spooled for use with an APA-500 dispenser, offers the lowest cost of entry into active MAP for case-ready meat.
1Savell, J.W. (2003 July). Biochemical, Raw and Cooked Color Characteristics of Individual Bovine Muscles in Oxygen Permeable and Modified Atmosphere Packaging Project Summary. Prepared on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Center for Research & Knowledge Management. Funded by The Beef Checkoff.
