Using an oxygen absorber to store beef jerky
What is beef jerky?
Beef jerky is dried smoked beef that contains a lot of protein and is one of the most popular snacks in the world. This product is recently produced in Iran as well.
The producers of this delicious snack in the world include Blue Ox jerky, Jack Link’s, Oberto, Old Trapper, Slim Jim and Matador.
In Iran, companies such as Andre and Sitek Nutrition produce this product.
The exact definition of beef jerky
According to the definition of the Food Safety and Inspection Service, FSIS (Food Safety & Inspection Service), affiliated with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2006, beef jerky is defined as:
Nutrient dense beef that gains light weight as a result of the drying process.
This snack does not require refrigeration and additional processes during storage and can be stored at room temperature for months.
Depending on the type of meat and production method, jerky has 4-5% fat, 60-70% protein, 9-11% carbohydrates, 53% minerals, and each hundred grams contains 400-500 kcal of energy.
A research by Montain et al. in 2012 was conducted on 15 types of food and beverages containing caffeine, and jerky has the highest level of desirability (30%), preventing hunger (40%) and lightness (in terms of weight) (23%) in between these food items.
Uses of beef jerky
Caffeinating this snack helps soldiers who work in operational areas, in addition to receiving a complete meal ready for consumption without the need to cook and store in the refrigerator, to maintain their alertness during operations (Ahmadi, Mohammad and Mohammad Reza Sadeghi, 1392). The protein content of beef jerky leads to the growth and maintenance of muscle mass and also protects the bones. In general, beef jerky is a complete and nutritious snack that is recommended for those who love beef.
Why does beef jerky packaging need an oxygen absorber?
Oxygen absorbers are products that are placed in sealed bags to prevent the growth of fungi and aerobic microorganisms that can make jerky beef inedible.
This feature is only possible when:
The amount of oxygen inside the package reaches zero or close to it.
Another method of preserving beef jerky is vacuuming. The vacuum method prevents the growth of microorganisms and also increases the useful life of the product, but there are some problems with the vacuum method, for example, it cannot be used for foods which are crispy and fragile.
Although beef jerky is not crispy and fragile and can handle vacuuming, when all the air inside is emptied, the package crumples and loses its beautiful appearance, and as a result, this issue reduces It attracts customers and lowers the sales rate.
In addition, vacuuming does not lead to complete evacuation of the air inside the package in the best case. On the other hand, the compressed body of the vacuum can easily be punctured and make the vacuum operation ineffective.
What is the best way to store beef jerky?
As mentioned in the previous section, the vacuuming method is not a suitable method for preserving beef jerky, and manufacturers prefer to use oxygen absorbers for the following reasons:
1- Convenience of using oxygen absorbers
2- Ability to use with a wide variety of packaging methods
It has also been observed that a combination of oxygen absorber and vacuum with lower degrees or oxygen absorber alone give better results to preserve the freshness of beef jerky. Oxygen absorbers are a very suitable alternative to the vacuuming method, because they lead to maintaining the beautiful appearance of the product and increasing customers.
How are oxygen absorbers effective?
The noteworthy point is that oxygen absorbers and general methods of increasing the shelf life of products in packaging provide the best preservation for food when they are used in high quality packaging.
The smallest pores can render oxygen absorbers or any other preservation methods ineffective. They are designed to absorb small amounts of oxygen and are unable to remove large flows of oxygen; Each oxygen absorbent bag has a limited capacity for oxygen consumption, for example 2000 cc or 2 liters. Therefore, before you put the sachets in the packaging, you must calculate exactly how much oxygen absorber you need, otherwise, some oxygen will always remain inside the container, which causes food spoilage.
In addition, to achieve maximum efficiency, you must use gas-resistant packaging.
References:
1- Ahmadi, Mohammad and Mohammad Reza Sadeghi, 1392, Caffeinated Beef Jerky, suitable food for warriors, Third National Food Security Conference, Swadkoh, Islamic Azad University, Swadkoh Branch, https://www.civilica. com/Paper-FSS03-FSS03_001.html