肉品气调包装的贡献和处境

1950年，Aaron Brody与Dick Perdue合作研究推出了气调保鲜包装——这一创新的技术成功帮助肉制品工业规避了数百万美金的浪费和损失，并且以其它技术无法匹敌的成本优势，为消费者提供了新鲜、营养的肉品。

但是，Aaron Brody表示，由于超市生鲜部门的操作员工对失去现有操作职位的担忧、传统卖场对损失消费者的担心、同时由于消费者对于新鲜红肉的标准持有不合理的先决认知，目前在肉品工业中，因为浪费而导致的成本流失依然居高不下。

气调保鲜技术的诞生

Aaron brody在1950年就职于美国惠尔浦公司时研发出了气调保鲜包装技术（简称为MAP）。他表示：“我们的初衷是希望提升美国冷冻设备的质量。此前，我们从来没有将此项技术应用于本国生产的冷冻设备，而是将技术用在了新鲜肉品和肉品的生产分销环节。”

就在Aaron brody研发出了用于新鲜肉品生产的相关技术之后，在1960年代末，Dick Perdue随即研发出了用于新鲜肉品包装的Cryovac系统。这两项创新技术的融合，迅速促促进肉品行业实现了可观的成本削减和浪费削减目标，使肉品工业能够为全球极速增加的人口有效和成本低廉地提供新鲜而有营养的产品。

Aaron Brody表示：“在谈到新鲜肉品时，如果考虑到行业出发的起点，其实我们已经将肉品通常的产品货架保存期延伸了五到十倍。以肉馅产品为例，我们已经将其货架保存期延伸了一倍；而完整分切的牛肉产品，其目前的货架保存期已经延伸了两到三倍。”

“包装工业为了改变新鲜红肉产品的分销体系，已经迈出了坚实的步伐。这一分销体系的变化首先是将牲畜转移到城市中心的围场中，进而在位于美国爱荷华州科罗拉多市中心的工厂内进行包装，这个加工工厂距离牲畜的饲养牧场非常近。我知道有很多业内人士认为这种方式比较糟糕，但实际上这种方式是非常有效的，使我们不必再运输动物屠宰之后的后续废弃产品，有效地提升了我们的输送效率。”Aaron Brody继续表示。

这一创新的方式完全变革了整个肉制品工业，肉品的浪费数量大幅度减少，减少的成本达到了数百万美金，生产过程之后的废弃物也减少了数百万磅。

天然的平衡

Aaron Brody已经在美国佐治亚州州立大学任教了19年。在这些年间，他一直在致力于改进气调保鲜包装技术。“近期，我们研发的一款系统已经将肉品包装之内的氧气残留量降低到了百万级单位，甚至还有可能更进一步降低到十亿级单位。如果氧气残留量被可靠地控制在十亿级单位，我们就可以进一步地延长肉品的货架保存期，并且支持更长时间的冷冻货架保存期。”

冷冻设备对于肉品的气调保鲜包装而言是非常重要的。Aaron Brody坦言道：“气调保鲜包装对于冷冻设备而言是一款有促进作用的工具。如果没有气调保鲜包装，冷冻设备便不会发挥功能。在气调保鲜包装和Cryovac系统中，对包装内部气体的精细控制、配合选用适当的冷冻设备，便可以创造出平衡的微生物环境，并且令内装的肉品长久保持新鲜。”

Aaron Brody继续解释道：“肉类产品其实并不是无菌的，因此我们需要微生物平衡的环境，并且充分利用这样的环境为肉品确保新鲜度。我们需要这样的包装系统帮助产品进行呼吸、去除氧气，并且创造出二氧化碳环境。同时，我们需要维持固定的气体成分浓度，平衡氧气和二氧化碳气体的含量，进而帮助肉品延长货架保存期。微生物环境会以一个极低的速度慢慢发生变化，直到达到一个平衡的状态。我们设计出了包装结构以及材料，新款的包装拥有独特的氧气和二氧化碳气体比例，尤其适用于新鲜食品（比如生菜或草莓）的包装。”

Cryovac系统中的情形是，由于Cryovac包装选用了完全阻氧型的包装材料，因此其包装内部的微生物环境完全耗尽了氧气的含量（这也是内装产品发生变色的原因），并且释放出了二氧化碳气体。Aaron Brody表示：“事实上，我们并不希望这一结果的发生，因为在这类情形下病原型的微生物会轻松渗入。相反，我们会非常谨慎地保有氧气，使其含量不被完全降低为零。在氧气完全为零的环境中，一些厌氧性的微生物（如梭菌）也可以存在。我们需要创造出能够对抗病原体的微生物环境，这是我们希望创建的一种天然的平衡，也是Cryovac系统的目标。”

温度的控制

“需要担心的问题就是温度。脱离了温度的控制，一切都将成为空谈。在包装肉品时、在分销过程中，我们均需要特别关注产品的温度。同样，在超市等零售场合中，肉品的温度和控制也是非常重要的。”肉品的包装是在35°F–38°F的冷冻环境中完成的，物流分销环境的温度为31°F，而零售环境中的温度控制则容易失控。

监测和控制

通过采用冷冻设备、增强包装内部的气调保鲜的能力、确保包装内部的微生物环境正确和低增速的变化，这些手段均需要我们时刻确保产品的温度控制一直在我们的掌控范围之内。有效和智能的包装系统尤其需要这一前提。

在智能的包装系统中，环境的变化容易发生在分销环节中，这需要操作人员对此给予适当的关注。Aaron Brody表示：“智能包装系统可以感知外部环境的变化，并且自身会依据变化做出适当的调整。比如，当产品所处的外部环境的温度过高时，包装内部就可以做出适当的调整为其内部降温。如果外部环境中的氧气含量过高，包装内部则做出调整、自主降低氧气的含量。”

积极有效的包装可以进一步地发挥此类功能，让产品的包装针对外界环境的变化做出迅速的响应。Aaron Brody表示：“在智能和活性的包装中，包装材料通常包含一些独特的物理或化学物质，这类物质可以捕捉和测量到产品包装内部发生的变化，进而改变包装材料、提升或降低包装内氧气的含量，实现独特的包装内部环境，同时维系包装内持续进行的微生物环境的发展和变化。”

“我们目前所选用的包装材料可以根据外部环境的变化，适当调整材料本身的二氧化碳和氧气透过率，这也是当前生产所用的比较普遍的包装材料。”通过对包装内部的气体实现精确的控制，产品的新鲜度可以获得非常出众的延伸。Aaron Brody以Larry Bell公司的食品——Bluwrap新鲜鱼片为例列举了实例：“Bluwrap品牌的主营业务是从智利输送到美国的新鲜鱼片，产品的货架保存期为45天。Larry Bell公司新的投资仍主要集中于新鲜鱼片产品领域，但同时也投资了新鲜肉品领域，该公司对产品温度和氧气含量的控制都是非常严格的。”

市场的误读

既然为效率的提升提供了广阔的空间，为什么气调保鲜包装并没有得到大规模、大范围的应用？

Aaron Brody对此的观点是，根本的问题还是来自于消费者的误读。Aaron Brody表示，这一类不合理的认知是由消费者造成的，消费者认为肉制品行业的产品是不可持续的，同时又对牲畜屠宰、加工和分销行业提出了很多不利于长期发展的要求：“消费者通常认为，不要食用太多的肉产品，否则就是在浪费地球的资源。”问题或许在于，很多消费者误认为他们生活在乡间田园的自然环境中，而对由数百万计人口构成的、复杂的现代城市经济视而不见。

Aaron Brody表示：“大部分消费者都持有一个这样的观点——在超市零售卖场中，我们要采购的肉品必须是刚刚分切好的。事实上，在面对这样的一个观点相对极端的消费人群时，我们强烈地希望消费者能够亲眼看到肉品加工的生产环节和链条，这样他们才能够对这一产业链的价值有更为深刻的认同。这样消费者才能有一个更为直观的认识，比如是什么帮助产品确保了新鲜、是什么助力了产品的营养价值、什么是可持续的发展、什么样的发展对地球而言更为友好？如果为产品植入了有机的概念，那么我们也要清楚是什么样的消费人群会有采购的意愿。”

在肉品到达零售环节时，被肉品气调包装视为生命支柱之一的温度控制体系通常就坍塌了，而同时Aaron Brody认为：“零售卖场通常不太会愿意接受预包装的新鲜肉制品。”在肉品细分领域中，一个明显的变化时，消费者越来越倾向于购买在零售卖场工作车间现场分切的新鲜肉品，而接受气调保鲜包装的消费者寥寥无几。

Aaron Brody认为：“为了改变这一现状，我们已经付出了60年的努力，但是所取得的进步却非常有限。当前在美国市场中，大约有50%的碎牛肉制品选用了预包装方式，另外50%还是以初加工的方式进行出售。那么，为什么这种现象的出现延续了60年？这其中有技术领域、营养科学领域、品控检测领域以及经济领域中的多重原因。在即时分切的肉品中，仅有20%的肉品当前采用了预包装的方式，尽管我们已经为此努力了整整60年。我们已经为此争论了四、五十年。当前，零售商开始关注气调保鲜肉品的货架保存期，沃尔玛和Target等零售商的肉品的货架保存期均设置得非常短。

而这对于肉品来说实际上是一种浪费，并且此类问题没有获得有效的解决方式。Aaron Brody认为：“那么，为什么我们不能在超市中出售百分百的预包装肉品？这背后的问题是零售环节的物流输送环节并不能实现有效和精确的温度控制。在美国之外的其它市场中，我看到过对这一类问题的商业化的解决方案。这种方式是通过一种庞大而多层的操作方式实现的，并证实了输送环节温度的控制确实有助于推广气调保鲜包装。”

事实上，从牲畜被屠宰、肉品被收集和分割，直到消费者享用到肉品，全程而完全覆盖的温度控制是可以实现的。

Aaron Brody表示：“在完善的温度控制之下，肉品可以获得更为长久的货架保存期，企业和消费者也都可以避免肉品的浪费。这项技术的成本是相对昂贵的。但事实上，生产企业在操作车间进行肉品分割、分切、研磨过程中损失的肉品的成本则更为昂贵，浪费在这些环节中是非常惊人的。我们有能力延长产品的货架保存期、提升产品的质量。气调保鲜包装在零售环节中的应用将是非常可观的，这也是预包装肉品生产企业正在做的工作，只不过当前预包装肉品所占有的份额还非常少。一些消费者在发现了美国市场之外的、更为复杂和完善的气调包装系统时，经常会来问我，为什么我们没有生产出类似的包装？这一问题背后的原因其实是，超市卖场等零售环节为尊重传统消费习惯、确保产品销量，而对气调保鲜包装的推广采取了非常保守的态度。”

肉品气调包装的贡献和处境1：1950年，Aaron Brody与Dick Perdue合作研究推出了气调保鲜包装。这一创新的技术成功帮助肉制品工业规避了数百万美金的浪费和损失，并且以其它技术无法匹敌的成本优势，为消费者提供了新鲜、营养的肉品

肉品气调包装的贡献和处境2：肉品生产企业在操作车间进行肉品分割、分切、研磨等操作，气调保鲜包装机的应用。

肉品气调包装的贡献和处境3：为什么我们不能在超市中出售百分百的预包装肉品？这背后的问题是零售环节的物流输送环节并不能实现有效和精确的温度控制

肉品气调包装的贡献和处境4：通过对包装内部的气体实现精确的控制，产品的新鲜度可以获得非常出众的延伸

The Contribution and Situation of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Meat

In 1950, Aaron Brody collaborated with Dick Perdue to develop modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging - an innovative technology that successfully helped the meat industry avoid millions of dollars in waste and losses, and provided cost advantages unmatched by other technologies. Consumers provide fresh, nutritious meat.

However, Aaron Brody said that this was due to the concerns of operators in the supermarket's fresh food department about losing their existing operating positions, the fear of losing consumers in traditional stores, and because consumers had unreasonable preconceptions about the standard of fresh red meat. , At present in the meat industry, the cost loss due to waste is still high.

The birth of modified atmosphere preservation technology

Aaron brody developed the modified atmosphere packaging technology (referred to as MAP) when he worked at Whirlpool Corporation in the United States in 1950. He said: "Our original intention was to improve the quality of freezing equipment in the United States. Before this, we have never applied this technology to domestically produced freezing equipment, but used the technology in the production and distribution of fresh meat and meat products. ."

Just after Aaron brody developed the technology for fresh meat production, Dick Perdue developed the Cryovac system for fresh meat packaging in the late 1960s. The convergence of these two innovative technologies has quickly contributed to the meat industry achieving considerable cost and waste reduction goals, enabling the meat industry to efficiently and cost-effectively deliver fresh and nutritious products to the world's rapidly growing population.

Aaron Brody said: "When it comes to fresh meat, if you consider the starting point of the industry, we have actually extended the shelf life of meat products five to ten times. In the case of meat products, we have extended the shelf life of meat products by five to ten times. Its shelf life has been doubled; the current shelf life of whole-cut beef products has been extended by two to three times.”

“The packaging industry has taken solid steps to change the distribution system for fresh red meat products. This distribution system change starts with moving livestock into paddocks in urban centers, and then in downtown Colorado, Iowa, USA. The processing plant is very close to the livestock farm. I know there are many people in the industry who think this method is bad, but it is actually very effective, and we no longer have to transport the animals after slaughter. Subsequent waste products have effectively improved our conveying efficiency." Aaron Brody continued.

This innovative approach completely revolutionized the entire meat industry, significantly reducing the amount of meat waste, reducing costs by millions of dollars, and reducing waste after the production process by millions of pounds.

natural balance

Aaron Brody has taught at Georgia State University for 19 years. During these years, he has been working on improving modified atmosphere packaging technology. "Recently, we have developed a system that has reduced residual oxygen levels in meat packaging to millions of units, and possibly even further down to a billion units. If residual oxygen levels are reliably controlled to ten With 100 million units, we can further extend the shelf life of meat and support a longer shelf life in frozen storage.”

Refrigeration equipment is very important for the modified atmosphere packaging of meat products. Aaron Brody admits: “Modified atmosphere packaging is an enabling tool for freezers. Without modified atmosphere packaging, the freezer would not function. In modified atmosphere packaging and the Cryovac system, the Careful control of the gas inside the package, combined with the selection of appropriate freezing equipment, can create a balanced microbial environment and keep the meat inside fresh for a long time.”

Aaron Brody goes on to explain: "Meat products are not sterile, so we need a microbially balanced environment and make the most of it to ensure freshness. We need packaging systems like this to help the product breathe, remove Oxygen, and create a carbon dioxide environment. At the same time, we need to maintain a fixed concentration of gas components, balance the content of oxygen and carbon dioxide gas, and then help the meat to extend shelf life. The microbial environment will change slowly at a very low rate, Until a balance is reached. We designed the packaging structure and materials, and the new packaging has a unique ratio of oxygen and carbon dioxide gas, which is especially suitable for the packaging of fresh food such as lettuce or strawberries.”

In the case of the Cryovac system, since the Cryovac packaging uses a completely oxygen-blocking packaging material, the microbial environment inside the packaging completely depletes the oxygen content (which is also the reason for the discoloration of the product inside), and carbon dioxide is released. gas. Aaron Brody said: "In fact, we do not want this to happen, because in such situations pathogenic microorganisms can easily penetrate. Instead, we are very careful to keep the oxygen content so that it is not completely reduced to Zero. In a completely zero oxygen environment, some anaerobic microorganisms (such as Clostridium) can also exist. We need to create a microbial environment that can fight pathogens, which is a natural balance we want to create, and also The goal of the Cryovac system.”

temperature control

“The problem to worry about is temperature. Without temperature control, everything is empty talk. When packaging meat, in distribution, we need to pay special attention to the temperature of the product. Similarly, in retail settings such as supermarkets, meat The temperature and control of the product is also very important.” Packing of the meat is done in a 35°F–38°F freezer environment, 31°F in a logistics distribution environment, and easy temperature control in a retail environment out of control.

Monitoring and Control

By adopting refrigeration equipment, enhancing the ability of modified atmosphere preservation inside the package, ensuring that the microbial environment inside the package is correct and changing at a low rate, these methods all require us to ensure that the temperature control of the product is always within our control. This premise is especially required for efficient and intelligent packaging systems.

In an intelligent packaging system, environmental changes are prone to occur in the distribution link, which requires operators to pay proper attention to this. Aaron Brody said: "The intelligent packaging system can sense changes in the external environment and make appropriate adjustments according to the changes. For example, when the temperature of the external environment where the product is located is too high, the inside of the packaging can make appropriate adjustments. Cool the inside of it. If the oxygen content in the outside environment is too high, the inside of the package adjusts to reduce the oxygen content autonomously.”

Active and effective packaging can further exert such functions, allowing product packaging to respond quickly to changes in the external environment. Aaron Brody said: "In smart and active packaging, packaging materials often contain some unique physical or chemical substances, such substances can capture and measure the changes that occur inside the product packaging, and then change the packaging material, raise or lower the content of the packaging. Oxygen content, to achieve a unique internal packaging environment, while maintaining the continuous development and changes of the microbial environment within the packaging.”

"The packaging materials we currently use can properly adjust the carbon dioxide and oxygen transmission rates of the material itself according to changes in the external environment. This is also a relatively common packaging material used in current production." Accurate control of the gas inside the package , the freshness of the product can be extended very well. Aaron Brody cites Larry Bell's food product, Bluwrap Fresh Fillets as an example: "The Bluwrap brand's main business is fresh fillets shipped from Chile to the United States, and the product has a shelf life of 45 days. Larry Bell Company The new investment is still mainly in the fresh fish fillet product segment, but also in the fresh meat segment, where the company has very strict controls on product temperature and oxygen content.”

misreading of the market

Since it provides a broad space for the improvement of efficiency, why has the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging not been applied on a large scale and a large scale?

Aaron Brody's point of view is that the fundamental problem is still from consumer misreading. Aaron Brody said this type of unreasonable perception is caused by consumers who believe that the products of the meat industry are unsustainable, and at the same time, there are many unfavorable long-term development of the livestock slaughtering, processing and distribution industry. Requirement: "Consumers generally believe that you are wasting the earth's resources by not consuming too much meat." The problem may be that many consumers mistakenly believe that they are living in the countryside Population counts and complex modern urban economies turn a blind eye.

Aaron Brody said: "Most consumers hold this view - in the supermarket retail store, the meat we want to buy must be freshly cut. In fact, in the face of such a view, it is relatively extreme. We strongly hope that consumers can see the production link and chain of meat processing with their own eyes, so that they can have a deeper recognition of the value of this industry chain. Only in this way can consumers have a more Intuitive understanding, such as what helps the product ensure freshness, what contributes to the nutritional value of the product, what is sustainable development, what kind of development is more friendly to the earth? If the concept of organic is implanted into the product , then we must also know what kind of consumer group will have the willingness to purchase.”

When meat reaches retail, the temperature control system, which is regarded as one of the pillars of meat modified atmosphere packaging, usually collapses, and at the same time Aaron Brody believes: "Retail stores are generally reluctant to accept prepackaged fresh meat products. .” In the field of meat segmentation, an obvious change is that consumers are more and more inclined to buy fresh meat that is cut on the spot in the workshop of retail stores, while few consumers accept modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging.

Aaron Brody said: "We have been working for 60 years to change this situation, but the progress has been very limited. Currently in the US market, about 50% of ground beef products are prepackaged, and 50% is still sold in the form of primary processing. So, why has this phenomenon continued for 60 years? There are multiple reasons in the field of technology, nutritional science, quality control testing and economics. In the real-time cutting Only 20% of our meat is currently prepackaged, even though we've been working on it for 60 years. We've been arguing about it for 40, 50 years. Currently, retailers are starting to pay attention to gas The shelf life of fresh meat products is adjusted, and the shelf life of meat products from retailers such as Walmart and Target are set very short.

And this is actually a waste of meat, and there is no effective solution to such problems. Aaron Brody said: "So, why can't we sell 100 percent prepackaged meat in the supermarket? The problem behind this is that the logistics of the retail link does not achieve effective and accurate temperature control. Other than the United States In the market, I have seen commercial solutions to this type of problem. This approach is achieved through a large and multi-layered operation, and it is confirmed that the control of the temperature of the transfer link does help to promote the gas Adjust the fresh-keeping packaging.”

In fact, complete and complete temperature control is achievable from the time the livestock is slaughtered, the meat is collected and cut, until the meat is enjoyed by the consumer.

Aaron Brody said: "With perfect temperature control, meat can have a longer shelf life, and businesses and consumers can avoid meat waste. The cost of this technology is relatively expensive. But the fact On the other hand, the cost of meat lost in the process of meat segmentation, slitting and grinding in the operation workshop is more expensive, and the waste in these links is very amazing. We have the ability to extend the shelf life of products, improve Product quality. The application of modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging in retail will be very considerable, which is also the work that pre-packaged meat production enterprises are doing, but the current share of pre-packaged meat is still very small. Some consumption When people discover more complex and complete modified atmosphere packaging systems outside the US market, they often come to me and ask me, why do we not produce similar packaging? The reason behind this question is actually that retail sales such as supermarkets and stores In order to respect traditional consumption habits and ensure product sales, we adopted a very conservative attitude towards the promotion of modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging.”

Contributions and Circumstances of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Meat 1: In 1950, Aaron Brody cooperated with Dick Perdue to develop modified atmosphere packaging. This innovative technology has successfully helped the meat industry avoid millions of dollars in waste and losses, and provided consumers with fresh, nutritious meat at a cost advantage unmatched by other technologies.

Contribution and situation of modified atmosphere packaging for meat products 2: Meat production enterprises carry out operations such as meat segmentation, slitting, and grinding in the operation workshop, and the application of modified atmosphere packaging machines.

Contribution and Situation of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Meat 3: Why can't we sell 100% prepackaged meat in supermarkets? The problem behind this is that the logistics and transportation links in the retail link cannot achieve effective and accurate temperature control

Contribution and Situation 4 of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Meat: Through precise control of the gas inside the package, the freshness of the product can be extended very well