The shelf-life of vacuum-packed pork primals at different storage temperatures

There is little published data on the current shelf-life of commercial vacuum packed (VP) pork at different storage temperatures. This can make it challenging for processors to assure premium quality products throughout different supply chains. The aim of this study was to systematically determine the quality shelf-life of VP pork produced by two commercial establishments at four different temperatures (from −0.5 °C to 10 °C). Different VP pork products (rind-on and rindless leg and shoulder) were analysed for changes in bacterial counts (total viable count and lactic acid bacteria), pH, and sensory properties (‘persistent’ colour and odour) throughout storage. Both rates of TVC increase and odour change were strongly temperature dependent, indicating the potential to predict as a function of temperature. However, shoulder exhibited faster rates of bacterial growth and quality loss compared to leg products, possibly due to the higher pH of shoulder (pH 5.67 vs 6.28). Additional studies are required to evaluate these observations. Furthermore, despite having similar growth rates, rind-on products had a faster rate of quality loss compared to rindless. This was likely due to rind-on products typically not having a lag phase before bacterial growth commenced. Therefore, growth and accumulation of spoilage metabolites would start sooner on rind-on products compared to rindless, where a lag phase was observed. The results of this study highlight the quality shelf-life of VP pork at different storage temperatures, and the feasibility to develop models for shelf-life prediction. Such models can be used as a decision support tool for better supply chain management.