The use of CO2 in packaging of fresh red meats and its effect on chemical quality changes in the meat:: A review

The antimicrobial effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) is well documented but comparison of the large number of often contradictory studies investigating the effect of CO2 on chemical quality changes is lacking. The amount of absorbed CO2 varies from 0 - 1.79 L CO2/kg meat depending on the applied packaging and storage conditions, which clearly demonstrates the necessity of optimizing these conditions with respect to the required amount of CO2. Absorption of large amounts of CO2 in meat tissue can cause a minor decrease in pH due to the dissociation of the produced carbonic acid to bicarbonate and hydrogen ions. A decrease in pH might affect other chemical quality parameters but this is not observed to be the case in the reviewed studies and general detrimental effects of CO2 cannot be found for color, weight loss or lipid oxidation. However, elevated CO2 levels can cause pore formation in cooked meat.