据他们说控制好是安全的，这是他们的理由，巴拉巴拉： Safety of CO in Modified Atmosphere Packaging
The use of carbon monoxide as a gas to flush fresh meats in packaging has cause concern and controversy in the US over the last year, writes TheMeatSite senior editor Chris Harris.
Last year the American Meat Science Association commissioned a report to bring clarity to the discussion taking place within the meat industry and with policy makers and consumers over the use of carbon monoxide as component of fresh meat packaging systems.
AMSA said that Since World War II, Fresh meat was typically packaged using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film overwrapped trays. More recently, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) has been developed to extend the retail shelf life of the products.
"Since 2002, CO has been permitted as a MAP gas for use during distribution in the United States. In 2004, CO was further permitted at low levels as a MAP gas in retail fresh meat packaging," says the AMSA study.
"Although use of CO in meat packaging applications is relatively new in the United States, meat products have been exposed to CO as a component of wood smoke for decades. CO also has been used in the United States since the 1970s as a modified atmosphere gas component for shelf life extension of many fresh fruits and vegetables."
AMSA shows that using low levels of CO in MAP systems improves the colour stability and flavor of fresh meat with negligible risk of toxicity from the packaging process or consumption of CO-treated meats.
"The CO-MAP system also prevents premature browning during cooking of the meat, a common problem with some other MAP packaging methods," says AMSA.
"The CO-MAP packaging system inhibits growth of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria during refrigerated storage and can provide additional protection against bacterial growth after removal from the packaging or if temperature control is temporarily lost during distribution. Evidence also exists that CO-MAP packaging enhances tenderness.
"Red color can be maintained in low-CO treated meats that have spoiled, emphasizing the need for adherence to label instructions for product shelf life and the use of odor and overall appearance as spoilage indicators. Overall, inclusion of CO has both advantages and disadvantages that must be thoroughly considered to develop its use as packaging technology benefiting both consumers and the meat industry."
Now the American Meat Institute has also spoken out about some of the myths they say are being spread about the use of CO in packaging.
The AMI says that a petition that was submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by Kalsec, Inc., maker of a line of herbal extracts that retard the effects of oxidation and maintain the colour and flavour of meat, makes numerous erroneous allegations about carbon monoxide used in some modified atmosphere packaged (MAP) meat products that are processed and packaged centrally at meat plants.
AMI says that caseready MAP packaging using carbon monoxide as one of the protective gases has been permitt ed for use by the FDA and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the US Department of Agriculture since February, 2002.
"In the almost four years leading up to Kalsec’s petition submission, the marketplace has increasingly adopted the use of low oxygen carbon monoxide packaging systems in place of MAP systems using high-oxygen in combination with herbal extracts, such as those supplied by Kalsec," says AMI.
"This shift appears to have triggered an aggressive effort to challenge the use of the low-oxygen carbon monoxide MAP systems, and attempt to block their use through erroneous regulatory arguments."
AMI said that teh argumentsset out in the FDA petition include both errors and omissions and it has now published a fact sheet to answer questions and demistify the use of CO in MAP and to show that its use is generally recognised as safe.
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