Refrigeration as a quality and safety contribution to the meat industry

“In order to contribute to the availability of food for a constantly growing population, demanding with the quality of the products of the meat industry”
Meat becomes an ideal culture medium for the growth of almost any micro-organism. This is due to its nutritional qualities, neutral post-mortem pH (pH = 6.5), high water activity (aw = 0.98), and extrinsic factors such as temperature and oxygen concentration.
Meat and meat products are perishable by nature and easily susceptible to microbial contamination and chemical spoilage. Certain processes cause undesirable changes in quality, and alter colour, texture and flavour, posing not only a health risk to consumers, but possibly an economic loss.
Over the last few years, the demand for quality foods of high nutritional value, but free of chemical preservatives, has increased due to the changing lifestyle and eating habits of increasingly demanding consumers.
Refrigeration as an important part of the preservation process in the meat industry
Refrigeration has an important role to play during the meat preservation process, as it prevents the growth of pathogenic microorganisms such as Salmonella, Listeria, or Enterobacteriaceae (such as E. coli) due to their capacity to cause intoxication or even the death of the individual; and non-pathogens that can alter the organoleptic characteristics or appearance of the product, making it unfit for consumption. For this reason, hygiene and control measures must be taken in cold storage rooms, taking the product to low temperatures, in order to slow down or stop microbiological activity and biochemical reactions.
Temperatures below approximately -2 °C, depending on the type of meat, lead to the formation of ice crystals in the intercellular spaces, causing water to escape from the cells to compensate for the increased osmotic pressure, which leads to drying out of the product and thus to weight loss, as well as alteration of the cell structure. All this results in a lower quality perceived by the user.