During storage of vacuum packaged chilled beef (VPCB), lactic acid bacteria become the dominant microflora, facilitating an extended shelf life. However, at some point, (bio)chemical and organoleptic changes render the meat unacceptable. In this investigation we evaluated volatile and non-volatile metabolite changes in VPCB after 84-, 98-, 120- and 140-days storage at ~ − 1 °C. After 140-days storage, the sensory, volatile and non-volatile data did not indicate spoilage. Minimal changes in volatile signatures of collected weep and on raw and grilled steaks were measured. Changes in selected non–volatile components indicated increased proteolysis (free amino acids, carnosine) and changes in organic acids (lactic, succinic) and nucleotide metabolism. Rapid volatile profiling using proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry showed a clear progression of changes in selected compounds over the storage period. An increased concentration of ethanol and other compounds between 120 and 140 days, suggested that volatile changes may be a useful objective indicator of extended storage VPCB quality.

在真空包装的冰鲜牛肉（VPCB）的存储过程中，乳酸菌成为主要的菌群，有利于延长保质期。但是，在某些时候，（生物）化学和感官上的变化使肉变得无法接受。在这项研究中，我们评估了在〜− 1°C下储存84、98、120和140天后VPCB中挥发性和非挥发性代谢物的变化。储存140天后，感官，挥发性和非易失性数据均未显示变质。测量了所收集的哭泣物以及生牛排和烤牛排的挥发性特征的最小变化。选定的非挥发性成分的变化表明蛋白水解（游离氨基酸，肌肽）增加，有机酸（乳酸，琥珀酸）和核苷酸代谢变化。使用质子转移反应质谱的快速挥发性分析表明，在存储期间，所选化合物的变化趋势明显。在120到140天之间，乙醇和其他化合物的浓度增加，表明挥发性变化可能是延长VPCB存储质量的有用客观指标。