Handbook of Meat Processing

114 Chapter 5

are commonly believed to have the main

infl uence on frozen storage life.

Storage Temperature

Extensive data are available on the optimum

storage conditions and attainable frozen

storage lives for many meats (IIR 2006 ;

ASHRAE 2006 ), as shown in Table 5.1. It is

generally accepted that lowering the frozen

storage temperature of meat extends the

storage life. However, there are surprisingly

few articles where data are presented from

experiments on the PSL of meat at different

storage temperatures. Some researchers, such

as P é rez Chabela and Mateo - Oyague (2006) ,

have also questioned the validity of some of

the data used, since much is “ rather old,

based on freezing conditions that nowadays

are old - fashioned. ” Experimental data (James

and Evans 1997 ) from many different publi-

cations have been plotted against the tem-

perature of storage for beef (Fig 5.2 ), pork

(Fig 5.3 ), and lamb (Fig 5.4 ). There is a clear

effect of temperature on storage life, with

lower temperatures resulting in extended

Frozen Storage Systems for Meat

Theoretically, there are clear differences
between the environmental conditions
required for cooling, which is a heat removal/
temperature reduction process, and those
required for storage, where the aim is to
maintain a set product temperature. However,
in many air - based systems, cooling and
storage take place in the same chamber, and
even where two separate facilities are used,
in many cases not all the required heat is
removed in the cooling phase. This failure to
remove the required heat can be due to a
number of causes:

1. Insuffi cient time allowed.


2. Insuffi cient refrigeration capacity to
   cater to high initial product load.


3. Overloading.


4. Variability in size of products.


5. Incorrect environmental conditions.

Three factors during storage — the storage
temperature, the degree of fl uctuation in the
storage temperature, and the type of wrap-
ping/packaging in which the meat is stored —

Table 5.1. Practical storage life (months) of meats and meat products at different storage
temperatures

Product − 12 ° C − 15 ° C − 18 ° C − 22 to

− 24 ° C

− 29 to

− 30 ° C

Reference

Beef 4 to 12 6 to 18 12 to 24 > 12 ASHRAE 2006

Beef 6 12 Lawrie and Ledward

2006

Beef carcasses 8 15 24 IIR 2006

Beef steaks/cuts 8 18 24 IIR 2006

Ground beef 6 10 15 IIR 2006

Beef liver 2 to 3 2 to 4 ASHRAE 2006

Veal carcass 6 12 15 IIR, 2006

Veal steaks/cuts 6 12 15 IIR 2006

Lamb 3 to 8 6 to 16 12 to 18 > 12 ASHRAE 2006

Lamb carcasses 18 24 > 24 IIR 2006

Lamb steaks 12 18 24 IIR 2006

Pork 2 to 6 4 to 12 8 to 15 10 ASHRAE 2006

Pork 3 6 12 Lawrie and Ledward

2006

Pork carcasses 6 10 15 IIR 2006

Pork steaks/cuts 6 10 15 IIR 2006

Sliced bacon (vac.) 12 12 12 IIR 2006

Liver 4 12 18 IIR 2006